Texas [USA], July 3 : Australia coach Tony Popovic said that the Socceroos "are ready to deliver" in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash against Egypt on Friday at Arlington, while also acknowledging the significance of the knockout encounter, as per Reuters.
Australia have advanced beyond the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup, after successfully navigating a challenging group featuring the United States, Turkey and Paraguay. They defeated Turkey 2-0, faced a 2-0 defeat to the co-hosts USA and then had a goalless draw against Paraguay.
Popovic said the Socceroos understand the significance of their Round of 32 clash against Egypt and are fully prepared for the challenge. He urged his players to stay focused on the present, saying history will be made only if they perform over 90 minutes, extra time or penalties.
"We know how big this game is and I think all the players are ready to deliver. We have to really stay in the moment. The history gets made after the game, so we have to do our part during the match, whether that's 90 minutes, extra time or penalties, to create that history," he said as quoted by Reuters.
Popovic expects a tougher test against Egypt given the knockout stakes, but is confident Australia can raise their performance and produce a better display than it did in the group stage.
"I'm expecting the game to be even more difficult than we've had so far because it's a knockout game and respect to Egypt as well. But I also feel that we can play better and tomorrow is a chance to do that," he said.
Australia's previous two appearances in the World Cup knockout stage ended in defeats to the eventual champions--Italy in 2006 and Argentina at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Popovic said Australia have a promising future with several young players set to emerge, but stressed that the current squad is focused on delivering success now and believes it has what it takes to do so.
"We believe the future is bright, of course, and there are many young players that aren't here at this stage that will be in the future as well. But I've maintained all along that we wanted to deliver now, with this group. We believe that they're good enough to deliver now," Popovic said as quoted by Reuters.
Popovic said Australia have already proven their quality by progressing from a tough group and urged his players to stay focused on the present, expressing confidence they will produce another strong performance against Egypt.
"We've shown that already by getting through the group, a very difficult group. And we've done that through the quality that these boys have. Tomorrow is another opportunity to not think about the future but to think about now, the present. And I'm sure these boys will deliver once more a very good performance tomorrow," he said.