SYDNEY (30 Dec 2014) – Australian stalwart Tim Cahill has issued a rallying cry to his side by declaring that a ruthless Socceroos side will be more than a match for any team at January’s AFC Asian Cup.
Australia will be appearing in their third continental showpiece following a group stage exit in 2007 and an agonizing defeat to Japan in the final of the tournament’s 2011 edition.
However, with the Socceroos hosting the 2015 extravaganza, hopes are high that the Green and Gold of Australia can go one step further on home soil. Something Cahill believes is possible if Ange Postocoglou’s charges develop a much needed ruthless streak.
“We have to be ruthless. I don’t care how we win, as long as we win,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the competition’s opening game against Kuwait on January 9.
“Let’s try to get through the group stage making an impact. Tournament form going into the last stages is really important, not only for confidence but for the fans and everyone collectively.
“For us it’s the final third. If we are ruthless, teams are not going to know what’s hit them.”
While that defeat to Japan may have left Cahill and his compatriots mentally scarred, the 35-year-old New York Red Bulls star is clearly now more determined than ever to write a more positive page in the history books for Australian football.
“That (the defeat to Japan) was really disappointing and sad because we really deserved that,” he explained.
“Before the game a lot of the top players were strapped up, there were a lot of serious injuries we carried through that game. If we could do that all again fully fit we would possibly win. But we didn’t, so now it’s going to be up to us to try to go one better this time round.”
