Socceroos boss Tony Popovic has urged his side to go out and make history as Australia prepares to face Egypt in the last 32 of the World Cup in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Socceroos have never won a knockout match on football’s biggest stage, but then neither have Mohamed Salah’s Egypt.
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Speaking to reporters on the eve of their meeting at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Popovic said: “We are feeling very good. We know we earned this achievement and have shown our value in the group stage.”
“We feel relaxed, confident, and prepared,” he continued.
“Tomorrow, we want to deliver our best performance. We have great respect for our opponent: like us, they also want to claim their first win in the knockout stage.
“It will be a special match and we are happy to have made it this far. We want to represent Australian football on the world stage once again.”
The Socceroos stunned Turkiye 2-0 to start their campaign in North America, then lost 2-0 to co-hosts the United States, before a scoreless draw with Paraguay saw Popovic’s team finish second in the group for the third time in the nation’s history.
Making Australia’s progress all the more exciting is that Popovic has the second youngest squad in the tournament at his disposal.
The likes of 20-year-old Nestory Irankunda and 23-year-old Jordy Bos have become household names in Australia off the back of starring roles this World Cup.
While 18-year-old centre-back Lucas Herrington has attracted interest from Barcelona and had Australian tongues wagging in his World Cup debut against Paraguay.
It means the future is certainly bright for the Socceroos, but Popovic believes that does not takeaway from their capabilities right now.
“It’s an exciting group, of course it is,” he said.
“We believe the future is bright and there are many young players that aren’t here that will be in the future as well.
“I’ve maintained all along that we wanted to deliver now with this group. They’re good enough to deliver now. We’ve shown that already by getting through the group – a very difficult group.
“And we’ve done that through the quality that these boys have.
“Tomorrow is another opportunity to think about now, the present, not the future, and I’m sure these boys will once again deliver a very good performance.”
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Standing in Australia’s way is the threat of Liverpool legend Salah.
The 34-year-old has been under injury cloud after sustaining a hamstring issue in Egypt’s final group game against Iran, but Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said in his press conference that Salah will play.
But it is uncertain whether he will start or come off the bench.
Either way the Australians are ready.
“We have prepared for both scenarios,” Popovic said.
“We have analysed both the matches where Salah played and those where he was absent, observing the players who took his place. We are ready for either situation and tomorrow we’ll see what the decision will be.”
Meanwhile, Popovic said that the remainder of his squad that is still standing after injured Mathew Leckie and Jacob Italiano were sent home is “fully fit” to tackle Egypt.
But the former defender, who experienced the knockouts as a player in 2006, remained tight lipped on the make up of his starting XI otherwise.
Players who can go the distance will certainly be weighing on Popovic’s mind as the potential of a penalty shootout lingers.
European heavyweights Germany and the Netherlands have been eliminated via spot kicks in the Round of 32 and with Popovic’s back five being solid throughout the tournament so far, there is every chance the contest goes beyond the 90 minutes.
“I wouldn’t say that we’ve done anything out of the ordinary or unusual in preparing for that,” he said.
“We’d all prefer to win the game in 90 minutes, but we’ve seen in the knockout games so far, they’ve gone to extra time, penalty shootouts, one finished at the very end of extra time.
“So, we have to be aware and prepare for all scenarios. I’m sure the players will be tomorrow.”
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“We look forward to him playing…” | 01:01
‘NOT SO SURE’: EGYPT COACH’S SALAH UPDATE
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan cast doubt on whether talisman Mohamed Salah will start their World Cup last-32 showdown with Australia on Friday in Texas following a hamstring problem.
Salah took part in training with the rest of the squad in Dallas on Thursday, albeit a lighter session in front of the cameras.
The 34-year-old former Liverpool superstar was forced off the pitch in the 57th minute of Egypt’s final group game, a 1-1 draw with Iran a week ago.
The striker placed an icepack under his left thigh, throwing his participation against the Socceroos in doubt.
“We tried to introduce him to partial training yesterday only,” Hassan said on Thursday, the eve of the match at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“He is very much looking forward to making his own contribution tomorrow. “On the other hand, I am not going to run any risk unless I am 100 per cent sure he is fit and raring to go tomorrow.
“Not so sure if he will be in the starting line-up.”
Egypt are looking to make more history for their country in Texas. They earned the first World Cup win in their history by beating New Zealand 3-1 in the group phase.
Hassan said he was wary of the height and pace of Tony Popovic’s Australia, especially when it comes to set pieces.
Neither Australia nor Egypt have ever won a World Cup knockout match. “We are well prepared to deal with everything we will face,” said Hassan. “We have been working hard for more than two years now with our style and personality.
“It is more than one player, it is a collective, and we aim to showcase this tomorrow.
“We aim to bring joy to our people, to Africa and to the Arab world.” Powerhouses of African football with a record seven continental titles, Egypt struggled to make a dent on the global stage in three previous World Cups.
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AUSSIE STAR’S PREM MOVE REJECTED
Watford have reportedly rejected an offer of £10 million (A$19.3m) from newly promoted Premier League outfit Hull City for Nestory Irankunda.
The Hornets said no to Hull’s offer of £8m (A$15.4m) with £2m in add-ons ($3.9m) as that figure is well below the sum the Championship club are after for the 20-year-old from Adelaide.
Italian transfer pundit Malu Mpasinkatu reported that Serie A club Fiorentina are interested in securing Irankunda’s services with Watford putting a €30m (A$49.5m) price tag on his head.
Irankunda’s former club Bayern Munich hold a 50 per cent sell-on clause for the winger, meaning Watford are eager to secure as high of a price as possible for the Australian.
Bayern also boast a €5m buy back clause if they did want to regain Irankunda rather than cashing in on a potential sale.
Hull are not the only Premier League club to be linked with Irankunda as both Everton and Crystal Palace have reportedly been keeping an eye on the excitement machine who scored on his World Cup debut against Turkiye.
While freshly relegated West Ham have also been interested as well as Spanish side Villareal.
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