MELBOURNE, Oct 11 (Askume) – Australia head coach Tony Popovich started his tenure with an encouraging win over China and is hoping to change that in the World Cup qualifier against Japan.
After beating Bahrain 0-1 at home and drawing 0-0 with Indonesia, Australia beat struggling China 3-1 at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday as they seek to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Australian team currently sits second in Asia’s Group C, behind the Japanese team, who beat the Saudi Arabian team 2-0 in Jeddah and have scored 14 goals in three consecutive wins at this stage.
Australia, who play Tuesday’s match at Saitama Stadium, have not beaten the Blue Samurai in Japan or anywhere else for 15 years.
“It’s a great challenge and I can’t wait. I hope the players are really excited about it,” Popovich told reporters.
“We’ll see who can support us. I think some of the players are not at the level yet where we need them twice in four days.”
“Once we get it right, I think you’ll look at the players and see how they performed (against China) and they’ll be behind it.”
Popovic, who replaced long-time head coach Graham Arnold after the Indonesian qualifiers, unveiled a new line-up with Joe Gauci replacing regular goalkeeper, captain Matt Ryan and midfielder Jackson Owen wearing the captain’s armband.
Due to poor defending, China took a 1–0 lead in the 20th minute before Australia scored the winning goal through Lewis Miller, Craig Goodwin and debutant Nishan Velupilli.
Popovich changed Arnold’s traditional four-man arrangement to include three defenders in the defense, but said he was not sure about the arrangement and only said it was the right arrangement for the Chinese team.
Although Japan paid a heavy price for their defensive frailties, Popovich’s first game was well received by fans and media.
His introduction and substitution bore fruit, with Miller scoring in his first game since the Asian Cup quarter-finals against South Korea.
Velupi’s inclusion in Popovich’s first Australian squad was a surprise, but he rewarded himself by coming on as a substitute in the win in Melbourne and sealing the game with a superb stoppage time display for the former coach.
“When the game started, everything felt good, and I felt comfortable with the team and the staff,” Popovich said.
“Even though we were down 1-0, I felt like we had full control of the game.”
