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(Sports)Socceroo confident ahead of Asian Cup semi-final

Xinhua, January 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Host Australia is confident they can defeat the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday night and progress through to their second consecutive Asian Cup final, according to manager Ange Postecoglou and captain Mile Jedinak.

Australia has enjoyed a relatively successful campaign thus far, with a 1-0 defeat to South Korea in their final group match the only blip on the radar following four matches.

However, on Tuesday evening in front of a sellout 32,000-strong crowd in Newcastle, they will need to defeat Asia's fifth-ranked side, the United Arab Emirates, to progress to the final on home soil.

According to Postecoglou, the side is in the best possible shape to do so.

"The environment we have created is pretty much the same as the World Cup, it's an environment designed to get the best out of our footballers," Postecoglou was cited by media.

"The biggest difference for us is we have spent the last six months exposing as many players as we could to how tough international football is and also exposing them to how we want to play.

"Every player who is in the camp, I'm quite confident if I put them out there, they're able to deliver."

Other than midfielder Chris Herd, who was ruled out of the tournament earlier in the month with an achilles injury, Australia has a clean bill of health ahead of the match against the United Arab Emirates.

For Jedinak, that's all his manager could possibly ask for.

"We have got 22 fit players ready to go," he said. "There is nothing more you would want at this stage."

Emirati attacking midfielder Omar Abdulrahman has been one of the standout players at this year's Asian Cup and represents the United Arab Emirates' biggest threat to Australia on Tuesday.

However, Postecoglou is putting no extra emphasis on the exciting 23-year-old, who has been tipped to move to some of Europe's biggest leagues in the coming months.

"Every team in Asia has technically gifted players," Postecoglou said. "The ones who use them better are the ones who have a really cohesive team and I think the United Arab Emirates have one of those squads.

"That is where the danger lies, rather than with individuals." Endi