Alkass Digital
Jurgen Klinsmann wants his players to embrace the challenge of facing Australia in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ on Friday as Korea Republic look to move another step closer to reclaiming the continental title for the first time since 1960.
Klinsmann, a FIFA World Cup winner in 1990 during his playing days with Germany, is no stranger to featuring at the sharp end of major tournaments and the 59-year-old is hoping his squad can view such high pressure clashes with similar relish.
“I want them to experience what it would mean to get to the end of a tournament, all the way to the end and to play for the trophy,” he said. “So that's what I tried to tell them, that they utilise this moment in time, they understand this moment in time.
“Now it gets down to the grinding phase. Now it's the big stage. And I love this moment. I personally love this moment and I hope they enjoy that too, that they love that too. And then the better team will win and it will be another nail biter against the Socceroos.
“They're a good team. We respect them a lot but we believe in ourselves too. So hopefully it works out, but I really hope that they understand this is a special moment in their career."
Klinsmann’s team go into the meeting at Al Janoub Stadium with two days fewer rest than the Australians and needed extra-time and penalties to overcome Saudi Arabia in the last 16 on Tuesday while Australia eliminated Indonesia on Sunday.
The Korea Republic coach, however, is unconcerned over the potential impact of fatigue on his players.
“Rest days is what it is, you accept it, you move on,” said Klinsmann. “We’re ready for this huge game and we’re very hungry.
“We want to go through and if you want to go through the knockout stage in a major tournament you have to suffer. That’s normal. The players play this way in their club teams. Many play in Europe every three or four days. No problem.”
The meeting is the first between the nations in the competition since Australia defeated the Koreans in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final but, while Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is aware of the Taeguk Warriors’ quality, he attention is trained on his own side’s preparations.
“We’re up against a top opponent and we have got to go out and believe in ourselves,” said Arnold. “We’ve got that belief and my expectations are always the same, we go out on the pitch to win.
“It’s full focus on ourselves. They’ve got a strong squad, but it’s about what we do, if we get our game right. We know their strengths and we'll deal with them the best way we can. It’s about getting our game right."
“I believe that the most important thing for us is with the ball defensively. We’ll be well set up. We’ve conceded only one goal so far and they’ve conceded seven, but we’ve got to make sure with the ball we’re better tomorrow.
“Our intention is to be in their faces for 90 minutes and put pressure on them. One of their strengths is technique and we want to take away that technique and one of the ways to do that is by pressuring them.”
Australia v Korea Republic
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium (Al Wakrah)
Kick-off: 18:30 (UTC+3)
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