Tim Cahill’s Australia continued their buzz-saw-like run through the Asian Cup with a 4-0 drubbing of Oman on Tuesday, giving the Socceroos control of Group A through two games and setting up a showdown with South Korea for the No. 1 spot.
First-half goals from Matt McKay, Robbie Kruse and Mark Milligan were followed up by a Tomi Juric strike for the icing on the cake in the second half.
The Socceroos now lead the group on goal differential following their 4-1 win Friday over Kuwait, with South Korea also having beat both teams.
Cahill, the New York Red Bulls star who is wearing the armband for Australia in place of injured skipper Mile Jedinak, was kept off the scoresheet against Oman following his goal in the Kuwait game. But he said the confident group is gunning for their first Asian Cup crown.
“I honestly think against Korea, just because we qualified for the quarterfinals, we're not going to rest,” Cahill told the media after the match at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. “We want maximum points, we want to win games and we want to keep making an impact. We love the football, we love the style we're playing and with Millsy [Milligan] and Matty [McKay] coming in tonight, they moved the ball quickly – the penetration and the passing and getting in behind.
"[Oman] couldn't deal with the waves of pressure. They couldn't deal with our fitness. That was supposed to be a tougher test – supposedly, according to the [media] analysis, after Kuwait – so I can't really pick too many negatives."
Australia will meet South Korea in the group decider Saturday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. A draw will be enough for the tournament hosts to win the group, with both Australia and South Korea having already locked up a spot in the quarterfinal knockout round.
"I've said time and time again that I believe in these players but they have to believe in themselves – and they do," Cahill said.
