3 minute read

Socceroos left-back Aziz Behich is excited by Australia's growing attacking instincts under head coach Graham Arnold.

Socceroos fullback Aziz Behich is revelling in the attacking emphasis of the team under coach Graham Arnold.

The left-back has been an ever-present in the seven matches Australia have played under Arnold and says the team's threat going forward is one of the most exciting changes he's witnessed.

Since Arnold took the reins after last year's World Cup, the Socceroos have scored 19 goals in those seven matches - including 5-0 and 4-0 friendly wins over Oman and Kuwait.

"Since Arnie's come in we've just added layers to our attacking side of our football and that's showed," Behich said.

"Since he's come in we've scored a lot of goals and we haven't conceded much either at the same time.

"We look to build on that, we've got multiple goalscorers now in the team and that's a big positive for us."

The emergence of youngsters Awer Mabil and Chris Ikonomidis has been one of the highlights of Australia's Asian Cup campaign, with the 23-year-olds both scoring in the 3-2 win over Syria last Tuesday.

Australia have scored six goals in their three matches in the tournament and Behich expects that scoring record to grow as the team develops under Arnold.

"For us as a whole team we're trying to build, and we have built from the first game - that disappointing loss we had (to Jordan) - and look, we're just getting stronger and stronger as this tournament's going," he said.