Australia head coach Trevor Morgan said his players are raring to take on a Saudi Arabia side who have yet to concede a goal in the tournament.

“Saudi Arabia have a well-balanced team, having scored nine goals and not conceded any. The team is looking forward to this meeting against them,” said Morgan. 

“We’re actually good to go today and we’re well prepared to perform at our best. We’re extremely happy to see the senior national team qualify for the FIFA World Cup and for sure it is an inspiration for our team. However, we have to play our own match and that’s what we must focus on.”

Morgan, whose side advanced to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Turkmenistan, said the game plan will be to find ways to breach the Saudi Arabia defence.

 

“We certainly need to score against Saudi Arabia. They have not conceded in this tournament, while we have only conceded once. I would say there’s not much difference between the sides and at this particular stage in the tournament, it can be considered to be a fairly even match. We need to exploit their weaknesses and we will see tomorrow how it plays out.

“The players here have been excellent in this tournament. They have been improving in every match and we strongly believe that we can win. Saudi Arabia are a great team but we are focused on victory tomorrow.”

Head coach Saad Al Shehri said Saudi Arabia are well prepared for everything that Australia throw at them.

“Reaching the semi-finals was very important to us and we’re prepared to face our opponents tomorrow,” said Al Shehri. “This game against Australia won’t be easy but we are ready to do our best.

“We must not lose focus during the game and we will continue to play the same type of football we have been doing throughout the tournament.”

Al Shehri, whose side advanced to semi-finals with a 2-0 defeat of Vietnam in their last eight tie, said Saudi Arabia are fully aware of the challenge Australia will pose. 

“We know what Australia’s strengths are and what they are capable of. The players must be prepared mentally and physically as well. 

“My players must be ready for all types of challenges in the game. We have good quality players and hopefully, we will be able to get a positive result.”

Venue: Pakhtakor Stadium (Tashkent)
Kick-off: 18:00 (UTC +5)