McGowan ready to feel the heat in Honduras
San Pedro Sula: Passion both on and off the pitch is what Australia’s Ryan McGowan expects from Honduras when the sides come head to head for the first leg of the FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia Intercontinental Play-off on Friday with a place at Russia 2018 up for grabs.
The Socceroos are set to compete in the play-offs for the sixth time, but it will be the first time they have travelled to Central America, where a hostile atmosphere is certain to await as opponents Honduras aim for their third straight FIFA World Cup.
Honduras struggled through their qualifying campaign but a 3-2 victory over table-toppers Mexico in the final round of fixtures saw Los Catrachos seal fourth place in CONCACAF’s six-team qualification group to book a date with Australia.
“In my time in Scotland I came up against Emilio Izaguirre (pictured below), who was at Celtic,” said McGowan, who faced the Honduras defender during his spells at Heart of Midlothian and Dundee United.
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“I’d say he’s a typical Honduras player in that he wears his heart on his sleeve, is very skillful, gets up and down and leaves everything on the pitch. I think that’s what we can expect from them and the 30,000 fans at the game on Friday.
“They’re going to be hard to beat and in our faces, but we need to make sure we can rise above that, play the football we want to and get the win.”
McGowan, who now plays with Al Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates following a short stint with Guizhou Zhicheng in China, was part of the Socceroos squad at the last FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The defender appeared in all three of his country’s games and set up one of the goals of the tournament when Tim Cahill’s stunning left-foot volley from his ball over the top flew past Netherlands ‘keeper Jasper Cillessen in a thrilling game that ended 3-2 to the Europeans.
And, after a 2018 qualifying campaign that has had both highs and lows, McGowan is now firmly focused on overcoming one final obstacle to ensure the Socceroos take their place at a fourth successive World Cup.
McGowan at the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.
“I think it’ll be a very difficult game because, similarly to us, they’ll be disappointed to be in the play-offs and know what’s at stake over two huge games,” added McGowan.
“We know exactly what we need to do now. There’s no getting a win and then relying on other results, so it’s all in our hands and we’re looking forward to that challenge.
“The Australian public like the do-or-die clashes and we’re looking forward to getting back to Sydney and having everything on the line in front of the home crowd.”
Photos: Getty Images, CONCACAF.com, AFP
Source: the-afc.com
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