The Joeys can defeat Mexico in their second FIFA U-17 World Cup group stage match if they stick to their guns, FFA U-16/U-17 technical director Peter de Roo says.
Australia fell 4-1 to Germany in their opening game while Mexico defeated Argentina 2-0.
FFA U-16/U-17 technical director Peter de Roo said the Joeys needed to look to play their game against Mexico, without falling into the same traps they did against Germany.
“We need to do what we did against Germany; we need to play our high-tempo, high-pressure, fast paced game,” de Roo said.
“But we can’t be as naïve as we were against the Germans in protecting ourselves against the counter attack.”
de Roo said the Joeys put in a decent performance in their opening game, and the score shouldn’t be taken at face value.
“When you look at the stats, the result should have been much closer,” de Roo said.
“Almost even possession, they had one more shot on target than we did, and we had eight corners.
“We just need to learn from our mistakes and make sure that we organise our rest defence better against Mexico."
A win in either of Australia’s remaining two FIFA U-17 World Cup group stage games will put the Joeys in a strong position to qualify for the next stage of the competition.
The top-two placed teams in each group will automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while the best four third-placed teams from across the six groups will also advance.
People living in Australia can watch all the action from Estadio Nelson Oyarzun Arenas, Chillan live and exclusive on SBS ONE from 6.45am AEDT on Thursday morning.