Alkass Digital
Tony Vidmar is confident his Australia squad can still perform to their potential as the Olyroos go into their Group A meeting at the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 with hosts Qatar knowing even victory might not be enough to keep their title hopes alive.
A 1-0 loss to Indonesia on Thursday left the Australians with one point from two games and, with his team yet to score, Vidmar’s side are bottom of the standings going into the final round of group matches.
That means Australia need to pick up all three points against Qatar while hoping Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia side lose to third-placed Jordan in their meeting on Sunday to have a realistic chance of advancing to the quarter-finals.
“We have to rely on other results,” said Vidmar. “We still have to win the last game against Qatar but we need the other result to fall in our favour.
“We’ve got full belief in the squad that whichever team we put out there we can play to what we are capable of, which has happened in the two games. We just need to take our chances. That’s modern day football, that’s international football.
“If you create that many chances and you don’t take them - and also defensively with set pieces if you fall asleep – that bites you. You can have all the territory advantage in the middle of the field, but the points are won inside both boxes.”
Vidmar made wholesale changes from the team that drew 0-0 with the Jordanians for the loss against Indonesia but, despite dominating for lengthy periods throughout the game at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, the Australians were unable to take advantage.
His side take on a Qatar team that have already confirmed their place in the next round with wins over Indonesia and Jordan, with the most recent – a 2-1 victory over Abdullah Abu Zema’s outfit – coming thanks to Mohamed Al Manai’s winner deep in injury time.
Ilidio Vale will be without Saifeldeen Hassan, who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in two games against Jordan, and the Portuguese coach is not expecting to make major alterations to his team despite confirming their progress to the next phase.
“As I have said before, I take each match one at a time,” he said. “I don't think I will change the formation and system because we would like to secure nine points and first place, therefore all the players will want to (do their best) as well."
Qatar v Australia
Venue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: Sunday, 18:30 (UTC+3)