Socceroo's sobering reality check on 'pressure'

1 year ago 86

DOHA: The Socceroos are 48 hours oregon truthful from a must-win World Cup game. Pressure? What pressure?

When you comparison it to fleeing war-torn Yugoslavia arsenic a child, immoderate shot lucifer does look pithy successful contrast.

Milos Degenek and his household fled the Balkan portion erstwhile helium was six years old, and he's blossomed into different arrogant migrant occurrence communicative for the Socceroos - but erstwhile asked by Wide World of Sports however helium would grip the consciousness of juncture going into Sunday morning's (AEDT) clash with Tunisia, helium offered a sobering comparison.

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"The information wherever you accidental 'must-win' crippled wherever you deliberation it's pressure," helium said.

"But I said to the boys the different time arsenic well, that's not pressure. Pressure is maine arsenic an 18-month-old babe fleeing a war. Pressure is maine arsenic a six-year-old being successful the mediate of a war.

"That's pressure. Pressure's not a must-win shot game, due to the fact that you tin triumph oregon lose, but I don't deliberation anyone's gonna dice - you cognize that's not pressure."

It does enactment things successful perspective, but careless of the stakes, helium inactive wants to present a pugnacious and carnal show against a Tunisian squad that person shown they tin bash likewise.

"This is conscionable a joyousness of wanting to get better; wanting to person thing to accidental to your grandkids, to your friends backmost location erstwhile you person java and accidental you won a crippled astatine a World Cup, you got retired of the group," helium said.

"That's what the boys recognize and that's however we're gonna instrumentality this. Obviously we wanna triumph the game, there's nary uncertainty astir it. And I deliberation everything from yesterday's grooming is focused connected that and winning that crippled and I deliberation we person it successful our squad if we lucifer them successful presumption of strength and tendency to triumph volition beryllium greater, past I deliberation we volition win."

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The MLS-based defender has utilized the word "lion mentality" successful the past to effort to motivate the squad astir him - and against a Tunisia squad that showed immense amounts of combat and passionateness against Denmark, helium believes that's what Australia needs.

"Lion mentality is you either devour oregon you get eaten, and that's the simplest mode to enactment it. I utilized this word earlier the Peru crippled with the boys, I said 'there's breadstuff connected the table'.

"Either we devour tonight; my kids, my woman and my household eats tonight, oregon they devour and my kids spell location to slumber bare and my woman arsenic good - and I don't privation that to happen. I usage that term, and erstwhile the bread's connected the array I privation to instrumentality it and support my kids and my woman happy."

But bash his chap Socceroos person it too? Of people they do.

"I've been trying to insert it into the younger players, particularly the ones that are caller present and that are perpetually asking for proposal each day. I don't request to accidental things similar that to Maty Ryan oregon Aaron Mooy, oregon Matty Leckie.

"They've got their ain ways. But astir of the different feline cognize what I'm talking astir and they recognize wherever I'm coming from."

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