Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Rabat: Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic has declared that he is proud of his players despite their 3-1 FIFA Club World Cup defeat at the hands of Cruz Azul on Saturday.
Western Sydney, who claimed the 2014 AFC Champions League title to earn a spot at the tournament in Morocco, took the lead against their Mexican opponents before both Matthew Spiranovic and Nokolai Topor-Stanley were sent off and the CONCACAF champions responded by sealing a dramatic win in extra-time.
The defeat saw the Australian outfit left to fight it out for fifth spot, while Cruz Azul can now look forward to a semi-final clash against Spanish giants Real Madrid.
“Obviously we are very disappointed. The boys are devastated and frustrated but I am proud of my team,” Popovic told fifa.com.
“We were the better side up until the sending off, and we wouldn’t have lost if we’d had the same number of players on the pitch. We controlled the game in extremely difficult conditions and were just two minutes away from a match against Real Madrid.
“We showed we could do more than just compete with Cruz Azul. So I’m feeling a mixture of pride and disappointment.”
Western Sydney will face Algeria’s ES Setif on Wednesday in a bid to claim fifth place, something Popovic, the 2014 AFC Coach of the Year, is eager to achieve.
“For us it’s a privilege to be at this tournament and now we want to go out on as high of a note as possible.”
Photo: AFP