Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou dismisses Asian nations’ lowly FIFA rankings
SOCCEROOS coach Ange Postecoglou is dismissive of FIFA’s rankings that don’t have an Asian nation in the top 50, but said the Asian Cup could be a turning point.
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SOCCEROOS coach Ange Postecoglou is dismissive of FIFA’s rankings that don’t have a single Asian nation inside the top 50, but said the Asian Cup could be a turning point.
Hosts Australia kick off the 2015 Asian Cup as equal tournament favourites (along with Japan) Friday night against Kuwait at AAMI Park.
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No Asian nation advanced to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time since France ’98, as winless quartet Australia, Japan, Iran and South Korea were all bundled out at the first phase.
Iran enter the 2015 Asian Cup as the highest ranked side at 51, narrowly ahead of Japan (54) with South Korea (69), Uzbekistan (74), United Arab Emirates, Jordan (both 81), Oman (93), Qatar (95), China (97) and Australia (100) making the top 100 of the 209-team rankings list.
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Postecoglou said the rankings didn’t do the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) justice and predicted Asian Cup success could have positive ramifications on Russia 2018.
“To be honest it’s the first time in my 18-year coaching career I’ve talked about rankings,’’ Postecoglou said.
“I’m bemused by them, we’ve moved up by not playing so I reckon if I canned every game between now and next year we’d be at 50.
“It’s certainly not reflective of where I think some Asian nations, not just us but others, (sit).
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“But there is a need for us to push on as a confederation, certainly at the World Cup, while the performances where encouraging the results weren’t there.
“We want to be a confederation that gets into the knockout stages of the World Cup and this is a good platform to start.’’
Postecoglou said the Kuwait opener was crucial to put pressure on Oman and South Korea, who both harbour genuine ambitions of advancing to the quarter finals.
“The first game becomes critical. You win and get some momentum going and put some pressure on the teams in your group,’’ he said.
“That’s you’re first objective to get out of the groups and get into the knockout stage.’’
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou dismisses Asian nations’ lowly FIFA rankings
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