Australian midfielder Massimo Luongo says the Socceroos won’t be parking the bus and hoping for the best in their 2018 World Cup opener against France.
Australia takes on Les Bleus in Kazan in their first Group C match on Saturday. France are one of the favourites to win the competition and have a squad blessed with stars such as Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. They are ranked seventh in the world and are expected to top Group C, which also contains Denmark and Peru.
Luongo said the Socceroos will have the mindset of trying to win, not secure a draw, against their European opponent.
“We’re always going to go in to try and win it,” he said.
“The way we played previously, we have been a bit more defensive-minded in all four games and we’ve come out as a better team throughout, that’s just the way we’ve set up to win the game and we’re going to play that way and hopefully hurt them on the counter or in transition.
“I think at this level, everyone is even. It’s all there for the taking, the win is there for the taking. Individually, yeah, they’ve got some big, world-class players especially in midfield. As I said, we’ve been working on a way to play as a team and the manager’s experience is doing it with a really good team, not individuals.
“It’s up for the taking… we’ve got to make sure we’re on, more than 100% because of their individual talents. If we’re caught in a situation 1v1 maybe against a Mbappe, Griezmann or Pogba, we’ve got to pull something out of the bag, we can’t rely on the team to back us up. When the moment is there, we rise up to the challenge and come up on top.
“Everything we’ve done in training and previously has been about winning the game. The obvious one is to take our chances because we’re going to get some. The way we’re playing, the way we win the ball back in good areas, we’re going to transition quickly. We’ve been working a lot on our transition and hurting them on the counter and just exploit the space in behind and down the flanks.”
Manchester United midfielder Pogba is expected to be one of France’s key men in Russia. Luongo expects the 25-year-old to have a big impact at the tournament.
“His price tag says how good of a player he is, the pressure is always on him because of how much he costs,” he said.
“Maybe he’s not doing enough, but as a midfielder, if a lot of midfielders can do half the things he does then I think they’re a pretty good player. A lot of eyes will be on him, I think he’s capable of doing something special, it could be a different tournament for certain people.”
Luongo heads into the World Cup after a brilliant season with Championship club QPR. The 25-year-old said he is a great touch ahead of the first game.
“I’m confident, that’s all you can really be,” the Sydneysider said.
“Coming from a good season, just confident, I’m full of it, I’m enjoying football, I’ve done everything I can to prepare well. Confidence and preparation is key, so I can’t wait for the experience to play at a high stage and hopefully we can make a big impact. I want to, I’m not here to gain anything, I just want to give Australia a good chance of winning games.”
