Australia coach Graham Arnold urged his players to “reach for the stars” ahead of their opening game at the Asian Cup on Saturday, saying they were in Qatar to win the title.
The Socceroos head into their opener against India in ominous form and the 2015 champions are considered among the favourites.
The squad may lack the star power of previous generations — with no member currently playing in any of Europe’s top five leagues — but on Friday the longest-serving coach in the team’s history called for “high expectations”.
“There’s only one thing to look at, one thing to believe in, and that’s to win it,” said Arnold, who took Australia to the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup, going out 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina.
“That’s the messaging to the players and to the staff: We’ve come here for a reason and that reason is to win this Asian Cup.
“We’ve got to reach for the stars and have high expectations, and we’ll do that right from the start.”
The match against Igor Stimac’s India will kick off proceedings in Group B, which also includes Uzbekistan and Syria.
The top two from each group are guaranteed to reach the last 16.
