Olyroos to bank on fitness for big upset
The Australian Men’s Olympic Football team will bank of their fitness to cause one of the biggest upsets at the tournament when they play Argentina later today.
The Australian Men-s Olympic Football team will bank of their fitness to cause one of the biggest upsets at the tournament when they play Argentina later today.
Coach Graham Arnold has also indicated a change of tactics, which will perhaps see at least one change to the starting line-up, with a five-man midfield employed.
While a loss against the tournament favourites is not a total disaster for the Olyroos, Arnold knows his side will need to improve significantly from their performance against Serbia, if they are to get a result.
He also knows the conditions may perhaps play apart in this, especially if Argentina are unable to dominate early and his team are able to stay in touch, just like they did against Serbia.
Argentina were certainly not at their fluent best against the Ivory Coast and seemed to feel the heat earlier than their opponents who kept possession well and exploited the space and making Argentina work hard.
But for all that, containing the likes of Lionel Messi and Juan Riquelme will be no easy feat, with Messi in particular providing two moments of magic against the Ivory Coast that sealed a 2-1 victory last Thursday.
Keeping discipline at the back and cutting off his supply from the likes of Riquelme and Javier Mascherano will be the key, hence why Arnold is likely to go with just one forward up front and add an extra midfielder to bottle the space and time they will get.
Matt Spiranovic is sure to be a key player at the back for Australia and was superb against the Serbians at the back and this will show whether he is the real deal for the national team in the future.
Arnold is confident the players will be ready for the challenge and the players have been waiting for this moment ever since the draw was announced.
The match kicks off at 7.00pm AEST with live coverage of the match on Channel 7.