Socceroos must ‘take the stairs’ despite draw

The Socceroos’ path to the Asian Cup semi-finals has opened up after favourable results.

Uzbekistan's defender Gurbangeldi Batyrov reacts during his side’s loss to Japan. Picture: AFP

Ask any player and they’ll insist there’s no such thing as an easy opponent.

But it’s difficult to deny Australia’s passage to the Asian Cup’s final four is starting to look very much like the England route.

The world No 41 Socceroos won’t have to face a nation ranked higher than No 74 until at least the semi-finals, where a possible match-up with Son Heung-min’s favourites South Korea (No 53) looms large.

Jordan (No 109) aside, Graham Arnold’s outfit has emerged from Group B comfortably, having defeated Palestine (No 99) and Syria (No 74) to seal second spot.

And this Monday (Tuesday morning AEDT) the defending champions will enter the business end of the tournament against Uzbekistan (No 95), a tie confirmed after Hector Cuper’s side fell 2-1 to Japan (No 50) on Thursday night.

Defeat the team they thrashed 6-0 in the 2011 semi-final and they’ll move on to either host nation the United Arab Emirates (No 79) or Kyrgyz Republic (No 91) in the quarters.

Win that and they’re finally looking at the heavyweights, with South Korea likely to progress past Bahrain in the round of 16 and then either Qatar or Iraq in the quarter-finals.

The whole thing would not have turned out nearly as well if it were not for that horrible 1-0 opening loss to Jordan.

Had Australia won that match and topped Group B they’d have faced Vietnam (No 100) in the round of 16 and then either Japan or Saudi Arabia (No 69) in the quarters — neither ideal propositions.

Uzbekistan's coach Hector Cuper. Picture: AFP

That side of the draw is riddled with big players including Iran (No 29), who the Socceroos still have not met since that gut-wrenching 1997 World Cup qualifier, and with whom they now cannot cross paths until a prospective final.

Regardless, Socceroos assistant coach Rene Muelensteen didn’t anticipate an easy run to the decider, though he did expect to encounter more expansive football from here on in.

“You have to step up,” he said.

“You’re getting better as the tournament goes on and the tension will be different, but you can’t compare one game with the next.

“It’s more dealing with the pressures. Against Syria you could see the learning curve, to keep that composure.

“You have to understand the youthfulness of a lot of players. Also lots of players were at the World Cup and never played a minute — Degenek, Mass, Jamie, Jacko — you have to experience it.

“And the players need to understand this is not going to be an elevator to the trophy, we need to take the stairs. It’s going to be a hard battle all the way.”

The Socceroos have won all three past encounters with Uzbekistan without conceding a goal.

After Uzbekistan’s result sealed Australia as their next opponent, Cuper took a leaf from Graham Arnold’s “we only focus on ourselves” book. The veteran coach, who led Valencia to back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, said his team were up for the challenge.

“I can say that Australia is a really tough opponent and we should be ready against them but more importantly we should be more focused on our own game, not on our rival,” Cuper said.

“We’ll have enough possibility, enough chances, to beat them. If you want to win the cup you should be ready to play against any team and Australia is also one of those good teams.”