Football
ESPN staff 10y

Socceroos announce trio of friendlies

Football Federation Australia announced on Tuesday a set of three friendlies as their preparations begin for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

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The Socceroos will meet World Cup quarter-finalists Belgium September 4 in Liege, before heading to the Middle East in October to first take on the United Arab Emirates, then 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar four days later.

The FFA also confirmed that negotiations for the team to play a second match in Europe during the September FIFA international window and two matches in Australia in November were underway.

"We have confirmed three opponents and hope to have three more games between now and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which gives us good preparation for what will be a challenging tournament on Australian soil in January," Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said.

"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."

While Australia failed to register a point in Brazil -- losing to Spain, the Netherlands and Chile -- Postecoglou said that he felt confident about the Socceroos future.

"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."

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