Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos must past tough history test as opening day blues hit hosts

THE Socceroos are going to have to overcome almost 50 years of history if they are to defeat Kuwait at AAMI Park on Friday night.

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THE Socceroos are going to have to overcome almost 50 years of history if they are to defeat Kuwait at AAMI Park on Friday night.

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Not since Iran in 1968 has the host nation won on the Asian Cup’s opening night.

The Socceroos will be out to buck a worrying historical trend on Friday night

The Iranians went on to win that year’s tournament, but seven hosts have since tried and failed.

Attacking midfielder James Troisi insisted though that a “relaxed” Aussie camp was not feeling the burden of expectation ahead of their first game.

“There was always going to be pressure,” Troisi said.

“But I think in the last couple of months, or pretty much just after the World Cup, (coach) Ange (Postecoglou) has put us in really difficult situations, which is the way he wanted it.

“Now we’re at home and everyone’s pretty relaxed to be honest. We’re just really looking forward to getting underway and starting off with a great performance.”

Iran defeated Hong Kong on May 10, 1968 and won that tournament, a five-team round robin, without dropping a point.

But host nations that have since played on the Asian Cup’s opening day — Kuwait (1980), Qatar (1988 and 2011), UAE (1996), Lebanon (2000), China (2004) and Thailand (2007) — have combined for just four draws and three losses.

Four Asian Cup nations since 1968 have successfully negotiated their first group games, but each was benefited by not having had the additional pressure of opening the tournament.

Two of those teams, Vietnam and Indonesia, were among four co-hosts of the 2007 Asian Cup.

OPENING DAY YIPS

Asian Cup hosts unable to get it done on day one

1968 — IRAN 2-0 Hong Kong

1980 — KUWAIT 1-1 UAE

1988 — QATAR 0-2 Iran

1996 — UAE 1-1 Korea Republic

2000 — LEBANON 0-4 Iran

2004 — CHINA 2-2 Bahrain

2007 — THAILAND 1-1 Iraq

2011 — QATAR 0-2 Uzbekistan

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos must past tough history test as opening day blues hit hosts