ARNOLD PUTS HEAT ON JAPAN
Record-breaking Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has piled the pressure on a struggling Japan ahead of Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier between the Asian Football Confederation heavyweights in Saitama.
The Socceroos are well and truly on the road to Qatar 2022 after becoming the first team to win 11 successive matches in a single World Cup qualifying campaign with Friday morning’s 3-1 win against Oman in Doha.
The win kept the Socceroos on top of Group B in the third round of AFC World Cup qualifiers.
The top two teams from groups A and B will automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Australia’s perfect form is in contrast to Japan, who were beaten 1-0 by Saudi
Arabia in Friday’s earlier match.
It was the Samurai Blue’s second loss in three Group B matches and left them six points behind not only Australia, but also the second-placed Saudis, who only trail the Socceroos on goal difference
If Australia can beat Japan on Tuesday, it would put a massive dent in the Samurai Blue’s hopes of automatic World Cup qualification,
“The Japanese no doubt have all the pressure on them because they have only won one game out of three,” Arnold said. “Every time we step out on the field we expect to win the game. “We will do that again on Tuesday.” Arnold said he would reflect on the Socceroos’ record-breaking run of wins in future years.
Australia’s 11th straight win in the race to reach Qatar surpassed the 10
game single qualifying campaign record they had shared with Germany (Russia 2018), Spain (South Africa 2010) and Mexico (Germany 2006).
“It’s something we’ll probably reflect on in the future and what a great feat it has been, especially playing 10 out of 11 games away from home, but to me it’s all about going to Japan and getting ready for Japan in Japan and making it 12 (wins),” Arnold said.