Fresh off the 7-0 smashing Australia handed Tajikistan on Thursday night, it seems the easy part is over.
Australia now only need a single point to progress to the next stage of Asian World Cup qualifying when they face Jordan in Sydney on Tuesday night, but it might not be so straight forward for the Socceroos.
Australia fell 2-0 to Jordan in Amman in the reverse fixture, continuing to be the Socceroos’ bogey team, having beaten the Green and Gold 2-1 back in 2012.
While the Aussies have fallen to Jordan twice away, they remain strong at home, notably boasting a 4-0 win at Etihad Stadium in 2013.
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Socceroo forward Nathan Burns believes having a vengeful mentality will be a good attitude to have for the upcoming clash with Harry Redknapp’s Jordan in Sydney on Tuesday night.
“We left there (Amman) disappointed, we worked hard in that game, and we probably felt like we didn’t deserve that result,” Burns said.
“It’s good to get them here, I think towards the end of the game they slowed the match down and killed it off, so we were really frustrated.
“We just have to keep the tempo up, keep the ball movement really fast, I think we can’t control what they do, but we can play our game and stay focused.
“If we get another goal then they’re going to have to come after us. Ideally we’d like to get an early goal like last night, we scored in the first two minutes. That’s the main focus, to get a good start and put them under pressure from the beginning.”
Despite the Aussies disposing of a weaker opposition on Thursday night, real positives could be taken from the overall team performance.
Mat Ryan’s services were barely needed and players such as Burns, Mathew Leckie, Aaron Mooy and Apo Giannou all saw a lot of the ball.
Burns believes the complexity in the national team squad has vastly improved under coach Ange Postecoglou and it is forcing players to fight for their place.
“We have so much depth now in the team, I think as you can see from the other night, we’re really pushing each other and that’s why there’s so many goals and we don’t need to defend we do up front,” he said.
“We’re all playing for a position as a result of the depth, everyone’s working hard and it’s pushing the squad and that’s what’s going to take us to the next stage and do well in a world cup.”
Burns had a number of chances throughout the game, but eventually, the 27-year-old converted an Aaron Mooy cross. Burns conceded it was a relief to score in wake of missed opportunities and praised the Melbourne City man’s services.
“I had a few chances, I wanted to score with every chance I get, so when you get these chances you think eventually one’s going to go in if you keep trying,” he said.
“The important thing was not to go into my shell and just keep backing myself and I knew eventually one would go in, I kept attacking the ball.
“Aaron (Mooy) has taken his football to the next level this year, I think he’s one of the best players going around and who knows how far he can go.
“It’s always great playing up front when you’ve got the likes of him behind giving those type of balls, it’ll be interesting to see how he does in the following years, but he’s got the potential to go far.”
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