Goodwin “genuinely believes” the Socceroos can win
Veteran Australian national team player Craig Goodwin believes the Socceroos will finally get their second Asian Cup win this February.
“I genuinely believe we have the squad to win the Asian Cup,” Goodwin told media ahead of the Socceroos upcoming tune-up match against Bahrain. ““It’s going to be hard and difficult but we have a good group with a good mentality. We have the potential to do something special here,” he continued.
While he seemed confident, Goodwin admitted that it wouldn’t be easy. “For us but it’s about coming in with a different mindset and mentality. Coming in with more hunger to do more great things here,” Goodwin said. “Now [it’s time] to focus on trying to bring the Asian Cup back to Australia.”
Return to Qatar to Socceroos stars
If Australia playing in Qatar for a major tournament sounds familiar to you, there’s a good reason for that. The Socceroos were in Qatar just 13 months ago for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Aussies were drawn into a tough group at that tournament alongside France, Tunisia, and Denmark. The Socceroos defeated Tunisia and breezed past Denmark to advance to the next round where they were beaten by the future-champions Argentina.
Despite the 2-1 scoreline against Argentina and only advancing to the first knockout round, the Socceroos were seen as one of the best stories of the 2022 World Cup. The players, manager, and, of course, the fans felt the tournament was a glowing success for Australian soccer.
Goodwin believes success in Qatar previously will give a boost to the Socceroos at the Asian Cup. “Qatar has been a happy place for myself,” said the 32-year-old.
However, he was quick to add that neither himself or his teammates will allow their past success to make them feel complacent. “None of us can get caught up in the thought process that we’ve done well here in the past and that it’s going to come easy,” Goodwin said.
How others rate Australia’s Asian Cup chances
Craig Goodwin may be talking up the Socceroos’ chances to win the 2023 Asian Cup, but others are less optimistic. The Aussies are no doubt one of the favourites to win the competition, but they are by no means a lot.
Most of the best sports betting sites have Australia as second or third favourites, behind Japan and/or Iran, respectively. Some international betting sites have the Socceroos as low as fifth favourites with South Korea and tournament hosts Qatar ahead of them.
PlayUp sportsbook gives Australia $5.50 odds to win the Asian Cup outright. They give Japan $3.00 odds. South Korea and Iran are level with Australia and also have $5.50 odds, making the Socceroos’ joint second favourites to win the tournament.
Australia’s Asian Cup campaign starts on January 13th at 10:30 PM AEDT with a match against India. The Socceroos’ other Group B matches are against Uzbekistan and Syria. Australia should definitely make it out of this group. If they can avoid slipping up against Uzbekistan, the Socceroos should top the group.
