The way we’ve started with a win is always important, says Aussie defender Aziz Behich ahead of Syria game in AFC Asian Cup 2023

In AFC Asian Cup 2019, Australia kickstarted their campaign with a loss to Jordan.

Veteran Australian defender Aziz Behich has set his sights on repeating the Socceroos’ 2015 heroics and claim the continental title for his country for a second time as Graham Arnold’s side gear up for their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Group B meeting with Syria on Thursday.

Behich played twice for Ange Postecoglou’s side when the Australians won the title on home soil nine years ago and the 33-year-old hopes starting the current campaign with a win over India on Saturday will serve as a positive omen for further success.

“I was part of the team that lifted the trophy in 2015 and it’s always been on my mind that I’d like to do it again,” the Melbourne City left-back said on Wednesday.

“The way we’ve started with a win is always important. We started the last campaign with a loss (in 2019 against Jordan) and it made it difficult for us.

“We have to go game by game, we’re putting (the India win) behind us and the full focus is on Syria. We go into every game to win and it’s going to be no different tomorrow.”

The Australians are appearing in their fifth AFC Asian Cup since joining the confederation in 2006, with the country reaching the final in 2011 before winning the title four years later.

Arnold is overseeing Australia’s AFC Asian Cup involvement for a third time, having seen his team exit at the quarter-final stage in both 2007 and 2019, but Behich believes the former Sydney FC coach has given the current team a robust platform upon which they can build.

“We work on defending as a team and I think when we press or are in a block we make sure we’re compact and make it difficult for the opposition,” he said.

“Since Arnie has come in we’ve improved on that a lot. When you come into a tournament everything changes compared to a friendly game or club football. It’s a one-off game, we’ve got to be switched on every minute of the game.

“Against India we did that very well. We know as a defence if we do our job we’ve got enough quality to punish teams.”

Victory in their opening game lifted any early pressure off Arnold’s team while the Syrians will go into the meeting at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium hoping to show a marked improvement from their 0-0 draw against Uzbekistan.

And while that result has increased scrutiny on Hector Cuper’s side, defender Aiham Ousou is unfazed by the attention.

“We live with the pressure, this is what we do every day,” said the Sweden-born defender. “We are well prepared mentally and physically. I don’t feel any pressure. We take it day by day and game by game.

“We’re excited to be here to play these games. Tomorrow’s game is very exciting, we play against – on paper – the top team in our group. It’s a challenge and in football anything is possible.

“We have some tactics to work on but we have good players and have good coaches. We believe in having a good game and a good result and hope we can show it tomorrow as well.”

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