Sick of falling short against Japan, the Socceroos are intent on spoiling the Samurai Blue’s FIFA World Cup qualifying “party” in Saitama tonight. Live from 9:35pm AEDT!
Australia made six changes from the 3-1 win over China, with Thomas Deng, Kye Rowles, Aiden O’Neill, Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin and Nestory Irankunda replaced by Jason Geria, Cam Burgess, Jordy Bos, Luke Brattan, Ajdin Hrustic and Riley McGree.
The Socceroos’ team bus was stuck in traffic and yet to arrive at the stadium an hour away from kickoff, according to AAP reporter Anna Harrington.
LIVE MATCH CENTRE: Socceroos vs Japan World Cup qualifying score, stats, updates and more
SOCCEROOS XI: Joe Gauci (gk), Lewis Miller, Jason Geria, Harry Souttar, Cam Burgess, Jordy Bos, Jackson Irvine (c), Luke Brattan, Ajdin Hrustic, Riley McGree, Mitch Duke
Substitutes: Maty Ryan (gk), Paul Izzo (gk), Thomas Deng, Kye Rowles, Patrick Yazbek, Nishan Velupillay, Apostolos Stametelopoulos, Nestory Irankunda, Daniel Arzani, Aziz Behich, Keanu Baccus, Craig Goodwin
Already five points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of AFC qualifiers, Japan will take a huge step towards a guaranteed spot at the 2026 World Cup with another win over Australia.
The Socceroos haven’t beaten Japan since 2009. In the nine meeting between the teams since then, the Australians have only managed three draws, suffering losses on the other six occasions.
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It’s a disappointing run of results the Socceroos are desperate to end, particularly with their own World Cup qualifying hopes not in the strongest of positions.
“The last few years, they’ve had our number,” defender Kye Rowles said on Monday.
“It’s massively important this game, and especially being almost the halfway point in the qualification process, we need to start getting the ball rolling.
“Hopefully, we can flip the script a little bit and put in a good performance and get one back on them.”
Rowles is confident the Socceroos can rise to the task of silencing a “hostile” crowd.
“We’ve played in front of some pretty hostile crowds together as a group, and I could speak for most of the boys in that hostile crowds really get you going in a different way that home crowds do,” he said.
“Home crowds make it all nice and pretty, and you’ve got the support and it gives you that confidence, whereas the hostile crowds really gets your back up.
“Our mentality is to go out there and try to ruin their party.
“For every opponent we come up against, we want to come away with all three points.
“You don’t really want to go into a game just trying to scrape a point or don’t lose by much. That’s not the ideas of any of us in this camp, and it never has been.”
Under new coach Tony Popovic, the Socceroos took the first step towards getting their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a 3-1 win over China last Thursday in Adelaide.
“There were plenty of positives on Thursday, but there’s a lot to work on as well,” said Rowles, who added he was learning quickly under the guidance of former Socceroos defender Popovic and assistant coaches Hayden Foxe and Paul Okon, who also spent time in defensive roles for Australia.
“In the small amount of time we’ve had with him (Popovic), ‘Foxey’ and ‘Paolo’, they’ve been really helpful on the field, especially in training sessions, just guiding you on positioning and decision-making.
“It’s been in those big areas that has helped me so far.
“It might not mean the biggest things, but they’re very important. Any information given, you’ve just got to take on-board.
“They’ve obviously had that experience in their careers and not only as players but coaches now as well.”
Japan star Daichi Kamada, who scored in his side’s 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia last week in Jeddah, said the World Cup would “start to feel very close” with victory over the Socceroos.
“We want to work hard,” Kamada said.
“We’re playing at home in front of lots of fans, and we have to win.”
FIFA World Cup qualifier
Japan v Australia
Tuesday, 9.35pm (AEDT)
Saitama Stadium
Not aired on Channel 10 only available on streaming
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