Australia has no plans to sit back against Dutch

Posted Wednesday, June 18, 2014 by YAHOO Sport

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) -- Facing the unenviable task of stopping a rampant Dutch strike force from adding to the five goals it put past Spain, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou is clear on one thing: trying to contain the Netherlands and play for a draw will be pointless.

''We know we will have to be strong defensively because the Dutch are very dangerous going forward,'' he said Tuesday ahead of the Group B match that his team needs to win to realistically stay in the World Cup. ''It will be a challenge for us to stop their attacking game, but the other side of that is: if we just try and defend for 90 minutes there will be only one result - and it won't be in our favor.''

Given perhaps the toughest draw in the competition, lowly-ranked Australia was always going to be against it in its third consecutive World Cup. The mostly young team lost 3-1 against Chile after a poor opening 15 minutes, but fought back strongly and dominated for much of the second half.

It now finds itself having to fend off the attacking duo of Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben, who shone in their team's stunning opening 5-1 win against Spain. Postecoglou has also had to rejig his inexperienced defensive lineup after Ivan Franjic pulled a hamstring against Chile, ending his competition.

''We keep saying we want to measure ourselves against the best, and we are getting an opportunity to do that,'' Postecoglou said. ''Tomorrow we will find out where we are at.''

Captain Mile Jedinak said the team had learned from its poor start against Chile.

''The key part was the response,'' said the Crystal Palace defensive midfielder, noting that for much of the team it was the biggest game of their lives. ''I know that will drive the boys going forward. ''