Schwarzer ready for Thailand test

BANGKOK: Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is bracing himself for a torrid test from Asian Cup co-hosts Thailand at the Rajamangala National Stadium tomorrow, as Australia prepares to roll the dice for the last time in their bid for progression to the knock-out stages.

BANGKOK: Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is bracing himself for a torrid test from Asian Cup co-hosts Thailand at the Rajamangala National Stadium tomorrow, as Australia prepares to roll the dice for the last time in their bid for progression to the knock-out stages.

One of the most recognised names in the Socceroos line-up, certainly in Thailand; 34-year-old Schwarzer was irresistible in Australia-s tournament opener against Oman, but admittedly indifferent against Iraq.

Soon after the Socceroos- 3-1 loss, Schwarzer stated he had ‘held his hand up- to accept blame for the first of the Australia-s goals conceded against Iraq, but remains confident that he, along with his team mates, can show improvement against the high-flying Thai-s, who themselves have their eyes set on a quarter final place.

“You-ve got to think that you can improve, the two performances that we-ve shown so far have been very, very well below par and really unexplainable and unacceptable and we-re all lost for words at the moment because it really is truly unacceptable the way that we-re playing,” said Schwarzer.

“I think we started the game better than we did against Oman, without a doubt, it-s just unfortunate that we conceded a slack goal, a very slack goal, and that put us on the back foot.

“To our credit, we got ourselves back in the game very early in the second half, but again we gave away another sloppy goal and, all of a sudden Iraq caught us on the back foot and made it their game and we struggled.”

On paper, as with every match the Socceroos have contested at these championships, Thailand would appear a squad out of their depth against an Australian line up featuring talent sourced from many of Europe-s major leagues.

All of Thailand-s line up play their domestic football at home, save for Singapore based pair Therdsak Chaiman and Sutee Suksomkit, and Sarayoot Chaikamdee and Nirut Surasiang, who play in Vietnam.

However, this is a squad that has united Thailand with some stunning showcases of late, and, heading into what is surely one of the most important matches in the recent football history of south east Asia, Thailand will be anything but pushovers.

Last Thursday, Thailand was clinical in seeing off the challenge of Oman to the tune of a 2-0 victory, four days after the Omani-s had held a timid Australian side to a 1-1 draw.

Five days earlier, the Thai-s were unfortunate not to come away from their tournament opening match against Iraq with more than a 1-1 draw - having dominated the Iraqi-s for the majority of the second half.

Leading into the tournament, Thailand were again in rare form - making the final of the highly competitive ASEAN Football Championship where they were defeated 3-2 on aggregate by fellow Asian Cup co-hosts Singapore, before downing regional powerhouses China 1-0 in a friendly international.

Led by iconic striker Kiatisak Senamuang - a living legend in his homeland (nicknamed Zico) and one of an elite band of Thai-s to have once played their football abroad, albeit for modest English side Huddersfield Town, Thailand are hell bent on delivering success to what is already a football-crazy nation.

Also crucial to the Thai-s successes has been 35-year-old captain Tawan Sripan, another veteran of the south east Asian football scene, and the aforementioned Chaiman, who is the latest Thai attacker to have been nicknamed by local fans after a world football icon - Zidane.

Most recently, striker Pipat Tonkanya has become the toast of Thailand - his two goals after coming on as a substitute against Oman shooting the home side to within ninety minutes of a previously unthought of quarter finals berth.

Standing between the Thai-s and their lofty ambitions are the Socceroos and, Schwarzer and his team mates are now all too aware of the pitfalls that await them in this most intriguing of regional competitions.

“It has been a kick in the teeth, without a doubt,” said Schwarzer of Australia-s Asian Cup introduction.

“You have to pick yourselves up, you have to look at the next game and, I think the good thing about the next game is that it comes very quickly and we can try and put things right.”

Australia-s Asian Cup hopes go on the line against co-hosts Thailand this coming Monday, 16 July. Kick off at the Rajamangala Stadium for Australia-s final Group A match is at 10.35pm AEST.

Fox Sports will feature live and exclusive coverage of the match from 10.30pm AEST. Click here for the entire Fox Sports broadcast schedule.