The Qantas Socceroos have collectively put tonight’s result against Scotland behind them and refocused their energies towards next month’s showdowns in the Middle East.
The Qantas Socceroos have collectively put tonight-s result against Scotland behind them and refocused their energies towards next month-s showdowns in the Middle East.
Though understandably disappointed by their 3-1 loss, Australia-s players were quick in shifting their thoughts to Lebanon and Jordan, where, in the latter match, the Qantas Socceroos- FIFA World Cup qualifying quest will recommence in earnest.
“There-s probably not too many positives we can take out of it,” said striker Alex Brosque.
“The only thing is that it wasn-t a qualifier, it wasn-t a match that meant too much, just one to forget really.
“We just look forward to the matches that are coming up. Against Lebanon, we really need to step it up a lot in that match and heading into the qualifier, we need to take some form into it.
“We need to turn things around, and pretty quickly.”
One of the positives Australia can draw from the match was the form of attacking weapon Robbie Kruse, who showed good quality throughout his first Qantas Socceroo start.
Set for a big season with Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf, Kruse linked well with Brosque and Brett Holman going forward and well and truly staked his claim for a starting spot next month.
“Obviously, we made some uncharacteristic mistakes and some of our positioning wasn-t well and, we gave away some silly goals,” said Kruse.
“There-s a lot of stuff we can work on, I-m sure the boss and the rest of the coaching staff will analyse it and, we-ll hopefully work on that.
“We have another game against Lebanon coming up so, it-s about hopefully everyone staying injury free in their club games for the next few weeks and then we-re looking forward to the Jordan game and hopefully getting three points there.”
Captain Lucas Neill, who is expected to confirm his new club in the coming days, achieved the rare milestone of leading his country onto the pitch for the 50th time at the Easter Road Stadium.
Although flattered by the honour, Neill emphasised the primary focus for he and his team-mates moving forward.
“It-s a difficult road, to Brazil, I think we-ve earned two good points so far, but it-s very important we look to get maximum points in our next game,” said Neill.
“From there on, it-s all about making sure we give ourselves a chance to take maximum points in each game, we will take it one at a time.
“We hope that we finish strongly, particularly in front of our home crowd and make sure we do the job and achieve the goal that everybody is dreaming of and that-s to be in Brazil in 2014.”
The Qantas Socceroos are next in action on Thursday, 6 September, when they take on Lebanon in an international friendly at Beirut-s Sports City Stadium. Kick off is at 8.30pm local time (Kick off is at 3.30am AEST, Friday, 7 September).
Australia-s FIFA World Cup qualification journey resumes on Tuesday, 11 September, when the Qantas Socceroos meet the challenge of Jordan in Amman. Kick off is at 7pm local time (Kick off is at 2am AEST, Wednesday, 12 September).
The Qantas Socceroos are next in Australia in 2013, starting with a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Oman at Sydney-s Stadium Australia on Tuesday, 26 March. Kick off is at 7.30pm local time.
The Qantas Socceroos return to Stadium Australia on Tuesday, 18 June to continue their FIFA World Cup qualification journey against Iraq. Kick off is at 7.30pm local time.
Tickets for each of the aforementioned matches at Stadium Australia are on sale now throughTicketek or via phone, 132 849.