Socceroos defender Matthew Spiranovic admits his side will be on high-alert if Korea Republic's Bundesliga ace Son Heung-min starts for the Taeguk Warriors.
Son is a team-mate of Robbie Kruse at Bayer Leverkusen and has been lighting up the Bundesliga, He is the star of the Korea side too and is dubbed by some as "Sonaldo".
If Son plays, he looms as the man Australia must keep quiet in Brisbane on Saturday night if they are to get the result they need to secure top spot in the group.
Currently keeping Kruse out of the starting side at Leverkusen, 22-year-old Son is a proven goal-scorer, is comfortable with both feet and quick which makes him a dangerous prospect for the host nation.
Asked if he will seek out Kruse for advice on how to stop Son, Spiranovic said: “I might not ask Krusey but I might ask some of the coaching staff.
“We sit down and analyse each team and look at individual players.
“I’ll do my homework before the game and try and take out any advantage I can going into it.”
Spiranovic is one of just four players in the Socceroos squad that has played the full 90 minutes in both of the first two matches and is adamant he doesn’t need a rest before the quarter-finals.
The Western Sydney Wanderers FC defender is keen to get as much game time as he can alongside central-defensive partner Trent Sainsbury as they look to develop their understanding together.
“It was our first game together against Kuwait and it’s not easy when you’re playing with different players for the first time,” Spiranovic said of their combination.
“I thought we had a good performance against Kuwait. It was a good platform to build on and I think there was improvement against Oman.
“And not just between ourselves but the team in general and I think the more games we play together, the better we will get.”
This will be Spiranovic’s first game in Brisbane since the Wanderers’ Hyundai A-League grand final defeat to Roar last year and he is excited about having most of the crowd on his side this time.
He said despite the side’s impressive showings in the first two matches, the Socceroos know they have to improve if they want to go all the way in the Asian Cup.
“No doubt. We’ve been speaking constantly on improvement in each facet for both attack and defense,” Spiranovic said.
“We want to lift another level and we’ll have to if we want to hold the trophy at the end of the tournament.”
The Socceroos were given Thursday off from training but will hit their pitch again on Friday in their final session before taking on Korea on Saturday night.
