Qantas Australian U23s head coach Aurelio Vidmar admits his makeshift side will struggle for fluency in their final Olympic qualifier against Iraq, but that his players need to be more consistent in front of goal.
Qantas Australian U23s head coach Aurelio Vidmar admits his makeshift side will struggle for fluency in their final Olympic qualifier against Iraq, but that his players need to be more consistent in front of goal.
With both sides already ruled out of qualification for the London Olympics, some have questioned Vidmar-s capacity to motivate his side for the match, being played at Gosford-s Bluetongue Stadium on Wednesday.
And while the coach admitted Australia will probably be “hot or miss” due to a lack of preparation, the game will still be an opportunity for some new faces to impress.
“It-s a bit different because we-ve had no preparation time at all. It-ll probably be a bit hit and miss; the players will probably play on instinct and what they do naturally.
"We-ll go through a few things of what we expect of them but I know there will be mistakes, which is only normal in a situation like this. But on the flip side they-re all very keen to represent their country and they-ll give 100 per cent.
“Although everyone-s been calling it a dead rubber I don-t see it like that,” Vidmar said. “It-s an international game that we want to win.”
Vidmar also responded to criticism about Australia-s lack of goals during the qualifying campaign as a whole.
“The first game against UAE in Adelaide [we lacked penetration], but against Iraq in Qatar and the other games it wasn-t a lack of penetration but a lack of quality finishing in front of goal.
“We could have had the game against Iraq sewn up at half-time the amount of chances we had; and they weren-t half chances they were one-on-ones with the goalkeeper. You can put the ball there but you can-t put the ball in the back of the net and that was our Achilles heel.
“[This team] is a new group; we-re going to have to put players in positions they feel comfortable in. we don-t have time to work on anything other than a few quick lessons. I don-t like going into a game like this but at this stage we have to do and we have players upfront who can score goals, we just need to make sure we put those chances away.”
In other squad news, Central Coast Marinerrs midfielder Mustafa Amini has been brought in for Melbourne Victory's James Jeggo, while Ben Kantarovski will wear the captain-s armband.
Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Round 3 V Iraq - March 2012
Zac ANDERSON Gold Coast United Mustafa AMINI Central Coast Mariners Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk) Adelaide United Kofi DANNING Brisbane Roar Nicholas FITZGERALD Brisbane Roar Sam GALLAGHER Central Coast Mariners Craig GOODWIN Melbourne Heart Rhyan GRANT Sydney FC Brendan HAMILL Melbourne Heart Chris HAROLD Gold Coast United Bernie IBINI Central Coast Mariners Ben KANTAROVSKI Newcastle Jets Mitchell MALLIA Sydney FC Jacob PEPPER Newcastle Jets Dimitrios PETRATOS Sydney FC Joshua RISDON Perth Glory Tom ROGIC Central Coast Mariners Lawrence THOMAS (gk) Melbourne Victory
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Third Round Qantas Australian U23s v Iraq Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Wednesday, 14 March 2012 Kick-off: 7:30pm Gates Open 6.30pm
Ticket Prices General Public Adult $20.00 Concession/Child $10.00 Family $40.00
Football Family and registered players database pre-purchase price Adult $10.00 Concession/Child $5.00 Family $20.00
Head to www.footballaustralia.com.au/tickets for details.