Matildas boss Alen Stajcic calls for more ‘mongrel’ as Australia get set for Asian Cup match against Japan
MATILDAS boss Alen Stajcic believes the mongrel in Australia’s DNA which saw national teams punch well above their weight in the past will see off Japan on Friday.
ASIAN CUP: Australia won’t be distracted from end goal
MATILDAS boss Alen Stajcic believes the mongrel in Australia’s DNA which saw national teams punch well above their weight in the past will see off Japan on Friday.
In a clash which promises to have all the melodrama of a final in the ultimate Group B AFC Asian Cup match at Amman Stadium, Stajcic says the Aussie fighting spirit which pushes boundaries of the laws of the game is a trait which never should be canned as the nation aims to concentrate on ‘beautiful football’ through a national curriculum.
“We had it in the 80s and 90s and the early 2000s we had that physical mentality,” Stajcic said.
“We may have lacked technique and technical understanding but we did enough to keep us in games and in big tournaments, you look at the Socceroos at the 1988 Olympics, the Olyroos in 1992, we were OK technically but we’ve lost a little bit (of mongrel) now.
“Maybe in the last eight to 10 years where we have only focused on technique, it’s my favourite thing as well, but I don’t want to lose that other thing.
“It is one of our strengths, we’re good at it and it has to be our strength.”
Australia is in the box seat to win the group if it beats Japan with its passage to the final much ‘safer’ given it will miss facing China — Group A’s leader — in the semi-final.
A draw could see Australia still take pole position providing South Korea doesn’t hammer Vietnam by a nine goal margin or more in the other Group B final clash.
A loss will see the Matildas exit the semi-final stage of the tournament if South Korea beats Vietnam.
Stajcic has not underestimated Japan and he wants the Australians to take the game as life or death in 90 minutes.
“If we lose we’re out,’’ Stajcic said.
“The loser will come third and is out of the Asian Cup, so pretty much we can come first or third in the group, there is a small chance we can come second.”
Stajcic is confident but not complacent given Japan, the 2011 FIFA World Cup champion and reigning Asian Cup champion has given Australia so much grief at major tournaments.
After the Matildas beat Japan on the way to claiming a maiden Asian Cup crown in 2010, Australia had become Japanese bunnies for the next six years.
An Asian Cup final loss in 2014 where the Matildas copped a cruel goal 28 minutes in for a 1-0 loss wasn’t made any easier when the Japanese won a torturous FIFA World Cup quarter-final in Edmonton, jagging a winning goal from a set piece three minutes before time.
The tide however has swung the Matildas way from 2016 when Stajcic led Australia to a 3-1 win over the Japanese in a Rio Games qualifier in Osaka before Australia beat Japan 4-2 at the San Diego tournament of nations 4-2 last year.
“We’re taking all the emotion out of it and we’ll look at what their frailties are,’’ Stajcic said.
“I think it will be a very similar game to the Korea game where it will be up to us to break them down and try and find something.
“They’re still one of the top two best technical teams in the world, they have a lot of strengths.
“Getting that first goal of the game might put some pressure on them.”
THE EQUATION
Best case scenario
A win to Australia will see the Matildas top Group B, make the semi-final of the AFC Asian Cup and qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup in France.
Not a bad scenario
A draw with Japan will also see Australia qualify for the semi-final but whether the Matildas top the group is reliant on South Korea beating Vietnam by a nine goal margin or more in the other Group B clash. All teams will be locked on five points with Australia’s superior goal difference edging Japan out of the top two — if South Korea wins.
Worst case scenario
Australia loses and South Korea beats Vietnam will mean Australia will drop out of the Asian Cup race and will face a play off for the ultimate qualification spot at next year’s FIFA World Cup in France next week.
Originally published as Matildas boss Alen Stajcic calls for more ‘mongrel’ as Australia get set for Asian Cup match against Japan
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