Socceroos plan for pitch perfect attack

Captain Mark Milligan has ­revealed a pitch like “a concrete carpark” severely hampered the Socceroos’ against Uzbekistan.

Australia's defender Trent Sainsbury vies for the ball with Uzbekistan's forward Eldor Shomurodov during the round of 16 n Al Ain on Tuesday morning. Picture: AFP

Captain Mark Milligan has ­revealed a pitch like “a concrete carpark” severely hampered the Socceroos’ fruitless attempts to break down Uzbekistan.

And he’s eager to use conditions less susceptible to a “game of basketball” against the United Arab Emirates in the hunt for an Asian Cup semi-final spot.

Australia scraped through the round of 16 via a heart-stopping ­penalty shootout after struggling to ­penetrate a well-drilled Uzbekistan over 120 minutes.

The match was held at Al Ain’s Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, where Graham Arnold’s side delivered some genuinely aesthetically pleasing ­moments to see off Syria 3-2 in their final group game.

But Milligan said the surface wasn’t conducive to attacking football and he looked forward to playing this Saturday’s (3am AEDT) quarter-final at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium across town, the venue of Australia’s 1-0 tournament-opening loss to Jordan.

“It’s extremely hard and extremely fast, so we had to play more at our feet to make sure we kept possession,” Milligan said.

“We didn’t want to turn it into a game of basketball because you take the control away and it’s just luck.

“We would have liked to have been a bit more potent in the front third, but as I say the circumstances and conditions made that a little bit tough. Sometimes you need to dig in against teams like that and take away that attacking threat. I think it’ll be similar; we just need to make sure that when we do get to the front third we’re a little bit more ruthless.

“I think the pitch and conditions will allow that more so than it did on Monday.

“We’re back on to a grass pitch, not a concrete carpark, so that’ll suit us in the way we want to play and being able to reward more of the front three’s work in running in behind and things like that.”

The return of Mat Leckie will be critical in the absence of suspended master playmaker Tom Rogic. Arnold always claims to have a plan B, C or D — now the Socceroos boss is ready to shift through the tactical gears to outfox the UAE.

Apostolos Giannou could line up in a front two to fill the creative vacuum, and the striker contends it’s “up to the coaches to find the way” to surprise the host nation’s defence. Experimentation will be under way in the last couple of tactical training sessions in Al Ain, but Arnold could opt to temporarily discard his front three, which struggled to rotate against Uzbekistan, in favour of two No 9s and two No 10s. He’s also floated the option of a diamond midfield.

“It could surprise the other teams, maybe they think we’ll play a certain way and we’ll play a different way,” Giannou said. “That’s up to the coaching team and coaches to find the way. We’re just there to execute what they tell us.”

Within the space of three weeks Giannou has risen from Asian Cup squad omission to potential starter in the wake of Martin Boyle’s injury, and his pedigree has proven an asset.

Now, having scored in the group stage against Palestine and having added a spot-kick in the penalty shootout against Uzbekistan, the 28-year-old would relish the opportunity to form a strike partnership, likely with Jamie Maclaren.

In such a scenario, Robbie Kruse could be a prime candidate for one of the No 10 roles given he’s fresh, having played mostly off the bench, including the round of 16.

The UAE are also missing their star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, the mop-haired magician sidelined with an ACL injury.

Tournament results so far indicate the UAE will go for a defensive ­approach, especially against the ­defending champions.

“It’s still a very attacking side; they’ve still got an attacking mentality,” Milligan said.