Socceroos captain Harry Kewell says Australia will be out to show the world what they’re capable of in the crucial World Cup qualifyer against Uzbekistan.
The Australians arrived in Tashkent on Monday, making a quiet arrival at midnight local time to give themselves three days to acclimatise for the match at the Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium.
After playing in ideal conditions during their historic 2-1 win over the Netherlands in Eindhoven on Sunday morning, the team must adjust to the heat and humidity in Tashkent with a temperature of 30C forecast for match day.
The Socceroos head into the match full of confidence following their upset over the world’s fourth-ranked side, while Uzbekistan struggled in their first match of qualifiers, losing 3-0 to Qatar in the extreme heat of Doha.
But despite a strong build-up to the second stage of Asian qualifying, which also included a 2-2 draw with South Africa in London, Kewell said the Socceroos must perform when it counted most against what he expected to be stubborn opposition.
“It’s always good to get off to a good start, but they’re going to have the same kind of plan,” Kewell said.
“They probably see us as the hardest team in the group so even a draw for them may be good.
“But we have to go out there and show the rest of the world what we’re capable of doing.”
Australia will again be without midfielder Vince Grella, with coach Pim Verbeek saying he would not recover from a calf injury in time for the match.
Grella has returned to his English Premier League club Blackburn for further treatment.
Verbeek is tipped to name the same starting eleven that beat the Dutch, with in-form striker Josh Kennedy again set to lead the line.
The match kicks off at 1.30am (AEST) Thursday.
The team will fly out of Uzbekistan shortly after the match and will have more than a month’s break before its next qualifier, against Qatar in Brisbane on October 15.