Big Arnie gamble and ‘crucial’ Socceroos advantage for toughest Asian Cup task yet

Having overcome Indonesia 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals, the Socceroos now look forward to their toughest test of the Asian Cup campaign so far – and by far.

Indonesia was better value than their lowly ranking of 146th in the world, and the scoreline flattered the Australians, who again struggled for fluency in possession and creativity or incisiveness in attack.

The two-goal half-time advantage came from just one shot in the first 45 minutes – the other via an own-goal – before the Socceroos ran over the top of a flagging Indonesia side in the dying stages of the match, the underdog’s plucky resistance fading.

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Now they will face either Saudi Arabia or South Korea in Saturday morning’s quarter-final (2.30am AEDT). The two Asian heavyweights face off on Wednesday morning at 3am AEDT, giving the Socceroos a couple of additional days of rest which could prove “crucial”, according to coach Graham Arnold.

“I can’t answer that question on which one I would prefer to play against, but we will go and watch Saudi against South Korea,” he said in his post-match press conference.

“We get a couple of days off now to rest and recover which is crucial but overall, we’re just focused on ourselves, the most important thing is that we get our games right and our brains clear, our brains ready.

“The boys know their jobs and they can go out there and get it done.”

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But it will not be an easy task. Both teams have aspirations for the title and are well in contention, boasting superstar players like Tottenham attacker Heung-min Son and Bayern Munich centre-back Min-jae Kim for South Korea,