Arnold urges Aussie players to use height against Syria

Australia must make the most of their aerial superiority at the Asian Cup, coach Graham Arnold says, starting against Syria in their second game on Thursday.
The Socceroos began their campaign in Qatar with a 2-0 win over India on Saturday but had to wait until the 50th minute before Jackson Irvine broke the deadlock.
Australia have one of the tallest players in the tournament in 6-foot-6 (1.98m) defender Harry Souttar and Arnold wants to capitalise on their height advantage.
“Our set-pieces were not great against India,” the coach said on Wednesday.
“We had a lot of corners and that is probably one of our strengths. We just need to improve on those little things.”
Australia reached the last 16 at the World Cup just over a year ago in Qatar before bowing out to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina.
Arnold’s physically imposing side are among the contenders for the Asian Cup, and their clean sheet against India was their fourth in as many games.
Full-back Aziz Behich said Arnold had put the emphasis on “defending as a team”.
“When we press or when we’re in a block, we make sure we’re very compact and make it difficult for the opposition,” Behich said at a press conference.
“Especially since Arnie came in, we’ve improved on that a lot.”
Behich has eyes on title; Syria’s Ousou unfazed by pressure
The veteran Australian defender on Wednesday also said he has set his sights on repeating the Socceroos’ 2015 heroics and claim the continental title for his country for a second time.
Behich played twice for Ange Postecoglou’s side when the Australians won the title on home soil nine years ago and the 33-year-old hopes starting the current campaign with a win over India on Saturday will serve as a positive omen for further success.
“I was part of the team that lifted the trophy in 2015 and it’s always been on my mind that I’d like to do it again,” the Melbourne City left-back said on Wednesday.
“The way we’ve started with a win is always important. We started the last campaign with a loss (in 2019 against Jordan) and it made it difficult for us.
“We have to go game by game, we’re putting (the India win) behind us and the full focus is on Syria. We go into every game to win and it’s going to be no different tomorrow.”
The Australians are appearing in their fifth AFC Asian Cup since joining the confederation in 2006, with the country reaching the final in 2011 before winning the title four years later.
Arnold is overseeing Australia’s AFC Asian Cup involvement for a third time, having seen his team exit at the quarter-final stage in both 2007 and 2019, but Behich believes the former Sydney FC coach has given the current team a robust platform upon which they can build. “We work on defending as a team and I think when we press or are in a block we make sure we’re compact and make it difficult for the opposition,” he said.
“When you come into a tournament everything changes compared to a friendly game or club football. It’s a one-off game, we’ve got to be switched on every minute of the game. “Against India we did that very well. We know as a defence if we do our job we’ve got enough quality to punish teams.”
Victory in their opening game lifted any early pressure off Arnold’s team while the Syrians will go into the meeting at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium hoping to show a marked improvement from their 0-0 draw against Uzbekistan.
And while that result has increased scrutiny on Hector Cuper’s side, defender Aiham Ousou is unfazed by the attention.
“We live with the pressure, this is what we do every day,” said the Sweden-born defender. “We are well prepared mentally and physically. I don’t feel any pressure. We take it day by day and game by game. We’re excited to be here to play these games. Tomorrow’s game is very exciting, we play against - on paper - the top team in our group. It’s a challenge and in football anything is possible.
“We have some tactics to work on but we have good players and have good coaches. We believe in having a good game and a good result and hope we can show it tomorrow as well.”