Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Melbourne: Australia coach Ange Postecoglou will enjoy a good night’s sleep on the eve of his side's AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 opener against Kuwait on Friday having confirmed the Socceroos side has been selected for the clash at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Click here for Postecoglou's flash interview
Postecoglou (pictured, left), though, did not reveal the starting 11 who will look to give hosts Australia the perfect start to their bid to land a maiden continental title having lost the previous final in 2011 in heartbreaking fashion to Japan.
Mile Jedinak (right) is set to captain the 2007 quarter-finalists on home soil for the first time, although the identity of the remaining 10 players is up for debate with Australia’s last outing coming in a 2-1 defeat by Japan in November as Postecoglou continued his much-published post-2014 FIFA World Cup revamp.
“I want to get a good night’s sleep tonight, so I've already decided. We've had an idea of what we want the team to look like tomorrow (Friday) night, so we've worked on it the last couple of days,” said Postecoglou.
“From my perspective, the decisions have been made but at the same time we’re very mindful that anything can happen on game day, whether that be in the morning of the game, in the warm-up, or even during the game early.
“From my perspective, we've got all the players ready to go, but in terms of the final selection, yes, that decision has been made.”
Australia have spent the last six months analysing their three Group A opponents, which also include 2011 semi-finalists Korea Republic and Oman, with much of the focus on Kuwait aimed at their three matches at November’s Gulf Cup.
Kuwait failed to progress beyond the group stage in Saudi Arabia which led to Tunisian coach Nabil Maaloul replacing 2007 AFC Asian Cup-winning coach Jorvan Vieira, although the 1980 continental champions only narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stage after beating Iraq and drawing with the defending champions United Arab Emirates.
“They’re involved in the first game of a major tournament too, so I’m sure they’re just as excited to get out there tomorrow (Friday) night. It’s a big occasion and I guess it’s a chance for Kuwait to really stamp their mark on this tournament,” said Postecoglou, with Kuwait having drawn 1-1 with Iraq in their only friendly since the Gulf Cup.
“One thing we do know is that it will be a tough game. They've always been a difficult opponent for Australia, and as I said it’s their time to shine, so we won’t be underestimating them by any stretch.
“But at the same time, we tend to focus on ourselves and make sure we play well, and if we play well, we’ll be a handful for anybody, including Kuwait.”
Photo: WSG