Moore: We're ready to go
Socceroos skipper Craig Moore is confident his team has attitude and the aptitude to get all three points in Thursday's match against Kuwait in Canberra and spark up Australia's 2011 Asian Cup qualification campaign.
Socceroos skipper Craig Moore is confident his team has attitude and the aptitude to get all three points in Thursday's match against Kuwait in Canberra and spark up Australia's 2011 Asian Cup qualification campaign.
Moore admitted the Socceroos were below their best in the opening 0-0 draw against Indonesia in Jakarta, but with a better pitch and better preparation this time around, he thinks the all-Hyundai A-League squad is ready to deliver.
"I don't think it was all bad after the Indonesian game, it was a terrible surface. We didn't play our best football, but we still came away with a point," he said.
"On the road that's good enough. Coming back here, a home game, a nice surface. I'm expecting us to go out there and play some great attacking football."
Moore was unequivocal in his stance that Australia needs to get three points from this match, agreeing with coach Pim Verbeek that there is only one good result.
"A victory is what we must achieve," he said.
"The determination and the togetherness within the group has always been fantastic. Our aim is to go out and to win every game, home or away, after drawing in the first game, it's very important that we go out and we get three points,"
He said the eleven men chosen to start on Thursday had a responsibility to ensure that Australia go the right result and got itself back near the top of the group.
"It's up to ourselves to go out and put on a performance. The onus is on us to go out and get at Kuwait and I'm sure that will be the case. We've been very confident and very positive in the way the last couple of days have gone," he said.
Key to Moore's confidence is the bond the players have built over this week's training camp. The veteran defender said there was never enough time when it came to preparation, but the Aussies were ready to go.
"The difference is we are at home, we've had a couple days. In an ideal world, Pim would want two or three weeks in camp. But, that's not possible," he said.
Moore will play his 43rd Socceroos match on Thursday night, leading a team which only has one other player, Archie Thompson, who has had more than five games of international experience.
Tickets for the match, which kicks-off at 8.00pm AEDT, are available from Ticketek (web: www.ticketek.com.au, Phone: 132 894 and all Ticketek agencies).