The Western Sydney Wanderers are one match away from creating Australian football history, as they prepare for their Asian Champions League (ACL) last leg final on Sunday.
The Wanderers come into the match with the advantage, having beating Al-Hilal on Saturday in a tough 1-0 win
Wanderers coach Tony Popovic couldn’t contain his disappointment with the team’s performance.
“They played very well and we didn’t, and we won,” he said.
“The key for us is we can do a lot better in terms of possession. If we do that, we give ourselves an excellent chance of lifting the cup.”
Playing on Sunday (AEST) in Saudi Arabia, the Wanderers will have an uphill battle to climb.
At home, the Wanderers have had a disastrous start to the A-League season, but have shown they’re more than competent in the ACL.
They’ve played 13 matches all across Asia to get to this point, and are equally matched when it comes to the Saudi giants.
All the Wanderers need is a win or a draw to take the title, while Al Hilal will need to be two goals clear to steal the win.
Al Hilal’s coach Laurentiu Reghecampf is stubbornly confident and says his team can do it, especially surrounded by its fans.
The Wanderers haven’t been so lucky in bringing its own fans, as a strict and complex process for obtaining Saudi Arabia visas, along with the travel cost, has reduced the touring party leaving from Sydney to 13 men and one woman.
Coach Popovic will most likely use the same line up as he did in the first leg, making use of Tomi Juric’s heroics.
The striker gave Al Hilal all sorts of problems after he came off the bench in the match’s last 30 minutes and scored the team’s winning goal.
Popovic will have to work on his back four, after Al Hilal showed it could superseded the defence and get through on a number of occasions.
The away pressure will also be an unavoidable problem for the Wanderers, as they will play in front of a 65,000 strong crowd that includes the Saudi royal family.
But at least they’ll have some local support from rival Saudi football fans hoping to see Al Hilal fall. They put a call out to the Wanderers management, asking them to bring along some extra t-shirts for them to don at the match.