Australia to play Belgium in Asian Cup warmup
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia will play a friendly against World Cup quarter-finalists Belgium in September as the Socceroos seek a testing warmup ahead of next January's Asian Cup on home soil.
Ange Postecoglou's team will face the Red Devils in Liege on Sept. 4 before heading to the Middle East to play friendlies against the United Arab Emirates (Oct. 10) and Qatar (Oct. 14), Football Federation Australia (FFA) said on Tuesday.
"Belgium will give us a good post-World Cup indication of how we are progressing and then we will get some good hit outs against Asian opposition to help us prepare tactically for the Asian Cup," Postecoglou said in an FFA statement.
The Socceroos hoped to book another match in Europe during the September international window and two more at home in November, the FFA added.
The lowest-ranked team at Brazil, Australia lost all three of their matches to crash out of the group phase and register the nation's worst result in four World Cups but won admirers for their spirit and enterprising play.
"Our performances in Brazil at the World Cup reaffirmed that we are moving in the right direction but it also showed we need to improve if we want to be regarded as one of the leading football nations, which is our ultimate target," Postecoglou said.
Belgium won all three of their Group H matches and beat the United States 2-1 in a round of 16 encounter before bowing out to Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Australia will host the Asian Cup from Jan. 9.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
