Nathan Burns says the hype and huge support from the Aussie fans for the Socceroos is filling the side with so much confidence and the belief they can overcome anything in the AFC Asian Cup.
Burns admits playing in the biggest-ever football tournament on Australian soil does come with its pressures but says the team are embracing it.
“We obviously want to come here and win whether the tournament was in Australia or if it was overseas. That’s the reputation we have as Socceroos now, we want to win tournaments,” Burns said on Sunday.
“We’re not feeling too much pressure. The crowds are very good and you saw in Melbourne we went a goal down and their support probably got us over the line in the end.
“We went behind and they didn’t turn negative. That’s what we need every game.
“We’re not going to be leading the whole tournament, so there will be times we need their support and I’m pretty confident the fans will give it to us.”
Expectation is only going to grow following the side’s scintillating performance to dispose of Kuwait 4-1 in Melbourne on Friday night.
Shielded from a lot of the pre-tournament hype due to playing in Wellington with Phoenix, it hasn’t taken long for Burns to see how quickly the nation is getting behind the team and the tournament.
“We all picked up the paper the other day and saw a double page spread which is awesome for the code,” the 26-year-old attacker said.
“The longer this tournament goes on and the Socceroos’ are still in its only going to grow. If we get to the final it’s going to be massive.
