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Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen has warned his players against complacency in their all-important FIFA under-20 World Cup match against Costa Rica on Wednesday (early Thursday AEST).
Brazil handed the Costa Ricans a 5-0 drubbing but Versleijen said the scoreline was a touch unfair to the losing side, who had their share of early chances and had a penalty appeal turned down.
Both sides are eager to secure their first points, with the Czechs taking on Brazil in the other Group E encounter.
“We can’t be complacent and I dont think that will happen because Costa Rica did really well against Brazil, especially the first half hour where they had some chances,” Versleijen said.
“We’ve also watched some of the games they played prior to coming to Egypt and it was clear they have some real quality.
“They are the CONCACAF champions, beating USA 3-0 in the final, which gives you some idea of how strong they are.
“They’re technical, good ball players, speedy, they like to play football and it will be a challenging game for us.”
Versleijen was looking for a marked improvement from his own side, who produced a disappointing performance in the 2-1 loss to Czech Republic on Sunday after captain James Holland scored a late consolation goal from the penalty spot.
“What we need is for everybody to play at the level that they can,” he said.
“I think some players were nervous because there was a lot of expectations and Czech are not an easy team to play against.
“Regardless of nerves, now we have to produce because this is our only chance of getting to the next round.”
The Young Socceroos will be hoping history repeats itself, with Australia never having lost to Costa Rica at under-20 level.
The teams met three times in 1983, first in the Joao Havelange Trophy in Mexico, then twice in the World Cup Intercontinental Qualifier in Costa Rica.
The last time they met was at the 1995 FIFA under-20 World Cup in Qatar, with midfielder Robbie Enes and captain Mark Viduka scoring the goals on that occasion.
The Young Socceroos will be forced to make at least one change with defender Ryan McGowan suspended in the wake of his red card against Czech Republic, but Versleijen would not be drawn on whether more changes were planned.
“I don’t think there will be too many changes, but we have to replace McGowan,” Versleihjen said.
“We have to bring in some more creative players because we have to score against Costa Rica.
“A crucial point will be the set pieces and we have to put pressure on them because we will have a height advantage. But overall we have to play a lot better.”
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