CANBERRA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Australia is expecting to win against China in its first match of the FIFA 2022 World Cup Asian qualifiers final round, said the head coach of the Socceroos.
“We will have pretty much only a couple of days together when players arrive after they get tested,” Graham Arnold said when answering the question from Xinhua on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ll have one or two training sessions,” he said. “It’s all about making sure that we’re ready for this game, we go out on the field with the great energy and expecting to win the game.”
Talking about their opponent, the Chinese national team, Arnold said they were “hardworking”.
“I think watching them, Li Tie (Chinese head coach) is doing a great job,” he noted. “He’s got them set up very strong defensively with a lot of experienced players.”
Australia’s home qualifier against China on September 2 will be moved to Doha, as Football Australia (FA) could not reach an agreement with the local government to host the match in Sydney due to a recent spike of COVID-19 cases in New South Wales.
Australia on Saturday revealed a 27-man squad for its first two matches of the final round qualifiers, with most of the selected players based at overseas clubs.
Talking about the 30-year-old midfielder Aaron Mooy, who plays for Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Port, Arnold said he was a “top class player” and will be in good shape.
“Once you put that shirt back on, once he is around his mates again,” said the coach. “Freshness and adrenaline will get him through these games.”
Australia, in a group with China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Vietnam, has qualified for the World Cup finals at the past four consecutive events from 2006 to 2018.