Why the Socceroos’ Asian Cup defence will be a much tougher task this time in the UAE

As holders of the Asian Cup, the pressure is on the Socceroos. It will be a much tougher assignment than in 2015 when Australia won it on home soil, especially in the Middle East.

Mile Jedinak of Australia lifts the 2015 Asian Cup after victory in the final against Korea Republic at ANZ Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

Now the hubbub over the A-League expansion has died down it’s time to focus on the football, specifically the Asian Cup kicking off early next month in the UAE.

As holders of the trophy the pressure is on the Socceroos. It will be much tougher than 2015 when we won it on home soil — playing away always is, especially in the Middle East.

We had our share of luck in that tournament four years ago. Japan, the most successful team in this competition, was in surprisingly poor form, while South Korea, who we beat in extra-time in the final, rolled us in the group stage.

Both these teams, along with Iran, are ahead of Australia in the betting and all are capable of winning.

It is going to be a good tournament — maybe it doesn’t have the allure of the World Cup or the Euros for some, but in our part of the world it is very prestigious and should be treated accordingly.

The banter these past few days though has been about selection. Coach Graham Arnold named his squad on Wednesday and there weren’t really any surprises. Only three local players made it — Josh Risdon, the incumbent right back, along with newcomers Rhyan Grant and Chris Ikonomidis.

The latter two deserve their chance. Their form in the A-League has been outstanding.

Ikonomidis is a versatile striker and very tactically aware after a few years of learning in Italy.

He can score goals and his attitude and manner in going about his game since returning to Australia last season has been spot-on.

The same goes for Grant, who has overcome a second knee reconstruction to force his way into the squad.

That shows me what the kid is made of.

I thought United’s Craig Goodwin might be in with a sniff, but maybe it was wishful thinking. His form has been good, but then he was up against established players and that was always going to make it difficult for him, especially given Arnold already had a couple of new players in the front-line in Martin Boyle and Ikonomidis.

That’s just the way it is in football. Goodwin just has to excel for United, stay humble and keep himself in the frame.

On the subject of humility, another Adelaide boy showed little of it after not being selected by Arnold — Melbourne Victory’s James Troisi. Ironically, Jamie scored the winner off the bench back in 2015. He has been in the Socceroos previously and, in my opinion, has been in career-best form in the A-League this season.

However, this doesn’t justify his rant after being overlooked this time round. He essentially accused Arnold of playing favourites. I wonder if it crossed his mind that Postecoglou could have been accused of playing favourites when he was chosen previously, despite some pretty ordinary club form.

The karmic wheel of football has a way of balancing things out so, maybe this time, that is what happened.

It is good to see football taking a front seat on Boxing Day and it’s the Reds against the Wanderers at Coopers.

United was desperately unlucky losing its past two games, but it’s not like it didn’t have its chances. Maybe Santa can deliver a goal-scoring mentality to those Reds who need it on Wednesday.