A draw on Tuesday night would be a fabulous result for the Socceroos, but coach Tony Popovic believes they are capable of springing a massive upset over their great rivals.
Tony Popovic is set for a reunion with his old captain at Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima when the Socceroos face the might of Japan in their next World Cup qualifier – and he firmly believes their adventurous new style can deliver an upset.
Moriyasu’s squad is littered with stars from Europe’s top-five leagues, including captain Wataru Endō of Liverpool, Brighton ace Kaoru Mitoma and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo, who is known as the “Japanese Messi”.
“Obviously, it’s a big challenge but also a big opportunity as well to win in Japan. I think we can get better. If we can improve on this performance , we can win the game. That’s really key.“You’re going to Japan to play the best team at the moment. It’s a beautiful challenge. I can’t wait. I hope the players are really excited for it.”
“And the positioning our 10s were getting in, and the way we were breaking lines, it gave me much more freedom and more confidence to get forward. You’re not worried about losing the ball because everyone’s in the right position,” he said. Jason Geria, Riley McGree, Jordan Bos and Nishan Velupillay, who all impressed off the bench, loom as strong candidates to start, as does Ajdin Hrustic, who came on in the 90th minute.
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