Asian Cup 2019: 3 Reasons Why Australia will find it tough to defend the title

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will embark on 5th January with UAE battling out against Bahrain on the tournament opener. Australia, on the other hand, will kickstart their sojourn on the next day against Jordan.

Going by the latest FIFA rankings, Australia is the second-highest AFC ranked nation, only behind Iran.

However, the Caltex Socceroos can't afford to take their title defense lightly. Iran, Japan, and South Korea are some of the other heavyweights to clinch the coveted trophy and pipping them won't be an easy affair.

Without any further ado, here are three reasons why Australia will find it difficult to defend their title.

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#1 No home advantage

It is no secret that home advantage plays a vital role in any team's preparations for a tournament. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the hosts Russia had a fairy-tale run despite being ranked lower by knocking out Spain to reach the quarter-finals.

In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the current 41st-ranked team beat China and UAE 2-0 in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, with ease. In the final, 76,385 fans flocked the Stadium Australia in Sydney and supported the home side.

Son Heung-Min equalized Massimo Luongo's earlier goal in the 91st minute to take the game into extra time before James Troisi sent the fans in euphoria in the 105th minute.

It will be Australia's fourth Asian Cup campaign after shifting their ship from the Oceanian Confederation.

The climate and weather conditions of Australia are completely different to that of the Asian countries. They banked on it in 2015 and, it worked. However, the temperature and humidity of UAE can take a toll on the Australian players.

#2 Poor FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and Finals run

Australia failed to register a single victory in the FIFA World Cup

Australia had the poorest run in the 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup amongst the AFC countries. They lost 2-1 to eventual champions France in their opening match and drew 1-1 with Denmark. With only pride in stakes in their last match against Peru, they lost 2-0.

Saudi Arabia was hammered by Russia 5-0 in the curtain opener but came back strongly against Uruguay to lose 1-0. In the final group stage game against Egypt, they even beat the African nation 2-1.

Iran came third in their group after beating Morocco 1-0, losing 1-0 to Spain, and holding Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal 1-1. South Korea, too, finished third in their group but they can boast of knocking out defending champions Germany out of the tournament.

Japan was the only side to squeeze through their group after pipping Senegal on fair-play points. In their Round of 16 encounter against Belgium, they were leading until the 73rd minute before losing 3-2.

Australia's performance when compared with the Asian heavyweights in FIFA World Cup doesn't paint a rosy picture.

Moreover, they even qualified to the tournament by the skin of their teeth. They had to play a play-off against Syria which they won 3-2 narrowly in the extra-time.

#1 No Tim Cahill this time

Tim Cahill is currently playing for Jamshedpur FC in the Hero Indian Super League

Tim Cahill was a pivotal figure in the Australian national team setup. The former Everton striker had bulged the back of the net 50 times for Australia in 108 matches. Moreover, if it weren't for his two goals against Syria, the Socceroos could have missed the flight to Russia.

Australia has named eight strikers in their 23-member squad for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. However, none of them have scored more than eight international goals.

Apart from Tim Cahill, Australia will also be missing the services of Aaron Mooy. The Huddersfield midfielder is ruled out of the tournament owing to a knee injury. Graham Arnold and his team will need to buckle up if they want to defend their title successfully.

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Do you think Australia can win the 2019 AFC Asian Cup despite these shortcomings? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.