Coach Graham Arnold is relying on “Australian mental strength” to see his side through to another playoff battle to win over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and a place in the World Cup final. Arnold said Australia prefer to qualify “the hard way”, but insisted they are ready to perform at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Doha. The winner will take on Peru in the same air-conditioned stadium on June 13 for a place in the final, starting in Qatar in November. New Zealand will play Costa Rica a day later to decide the final qualifying spot.
Arnold said that, due to the coronavirus travel restrictions, Australia have played 14 of their 18 qualifying round games in the Middle East and also conceded the team’s record of reaching the finals via the playoffs.
“Australia are very used to doing it the hard way. This is the fifth time in the playoffs and it is an experience we are used to,” the coach told a news conference ahead of their final training session on Monday.
He admitted that his team might struggle after accepting the first, so his main task was to mentally prepare the players as they look to reach the World Cup for the fifth time in a row.
“We have a very strong group of players at the moment who have a strong belief in themselves. Physically we are really ready for this game.
“In the past we have had a lot of players who have missed games because of Covid and international travel. But now all those kinds of things have been taken away,” he said.
“The psychic boys are in great spirits and I believe with the psychic Aussie strength we will come.”
Forward Mitchell Duke, who plays in Japan’s second division, said the game “will be a great opportunity. All the boys know what is at stake.”
“There’s been a great atmosphere around training and all the boys can’t wait to come and work on that pitch.”
publicized
There are expected to be a few hundred Australian fans in the stadium against several thousand United Arab Emirates fans, who are flying in in hopes of qualifying their team for only the second time since their debut in 1990.
“We are playing the most important match in the history of our country,” said UAE’s Brazilian-born striker Caio Canedo.
Topics mentioned in this article