Zalewski says Australia shouldn’t take fine run for granted

MINNOWS China are having the last laugh despite losing 11-0 to Australia in the final Group B match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

China, who drew against England (2-2) and Ireland (1-1), have qualified for the second round by virtue of being third in the group and face Group A runners-up France on Dec 10.

And if they win the second round match, there is a possibility of facing defending champions Australia again in the quarter-finals.

Australian captain Aran Zalewski said there was disparity in standard between them and China after leading his team to their biggest margin win in the 14th edition of the World Cup.

Australia, who are gunning for their third consecutive World Cup title, have qualified for the quar- ter-finals by winning all their three group matches.

Said the 27-year-old Zalewski, who scored two goals on Friday: “We’ve never expected to win with a double-digit score against China. It was one-sided match.”

Zalewski, who is from Margaret River in Western Australia, however, did not want to take their fine run in the World Cup for granted.

“There are few areas that we still need to work on in preparation for the quarter-final match especially the penalty corners,” said Zalewski, who made his debut for Australia in 2011.

“We need to keep improving as the competition gets tougher in the quarters.

“We’ve five days break before we play in the quarters on Dec 12.

“The long break is not too good as we can lose focus,” he said.