After driving the Socceroos into the Asian Cup finals, coach Ange Postecoglou will ignore the old adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Postecoglou says he’ll continue to tinker with his line-up despite a stunning success against Oman in Sydney on Tuesday night – a 4-0 thumping which booked the Socceroos a quarter-final berth.
Australia meet South Korea in Brisbane on Saturday with the winner to top the group. A draw will also be enough for the hosts to retain pole position, given they’re six goals ahead of the Koreans.
“We have got another big game on Saturday and it’s a game we want to play well and win and improve,” Postecoglou said.
“And I will make changes again.
“I have made changes not because I want to rest people or give people a chance. It’s because I think we have still got guys in there who have got more to give and they’re just waiting for that opportunity.”
Postecoglou made three changes for the Oman encounter from the tournament-opening 4-1 victory against Kuwait.
Midfielder Mark Milligan replaced injured captain Mile Jedinak while Matt McKay and Jason Davidson got starts ahead of James Troisi and Aziz Behich.
Milligan and McKay grasped their opportunity, both scoring goals, while Robbie Kruse and substitute Tomi Juric also found the net against the overpowered Omanis.
Stay informed, daily
Australia held a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime which allowed Postecoglou to rest key players in the second half – Tim Cahill, Massimo Luongo and Mathew Leckie were taken off.
“The guys, as a unit, have really embraced what we’re doing and really understood that for us to have any sort of success in this tournament, it’s going to be a collective effort,” Postecoglou said.
“The most pleasing thing is just seeing the whole group really embrace what we’re doing and embrace this challenge.
“There hasn’t been a person that hasn’t been a contributor so far.”
– AAP
