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AFC Asian Cup 2019: Nabbout relishes Australia's attacking style of football

Nabbout, currently plying his trade with J League side Urawa Red Diamonds, made a name for himself in the A League with Melbourne Victory.

Andrew Nabbout

Bengaluru, December 28: Socceroos forward Andrew Nabbout is relishing the opportunity to play free-flowing, attacking football under head coach Graham Arnold as the squad continue their preparations for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup title defence.

Nabbout, currently plying his trade with J League side Urawa Red Diamonds, made a name for himself in the A League with Melbourne Victory before really turning things on last season with the Newcastle Jets.

He believes Arnold has instilled a brand of football that utilises the pacy, attacking qualities of his team-mates which includes the likes of Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie and Martin Boyle.

"It's the type of football that I love playing," Nabbout told AFC Media Channel.

"We love putting teams on the back foot and pressing them high and getting in behind them, and always keeping them guessing.

"Especially with a pacy three up front, we're always switching and we've got that freedom up front to make different runs and switch around at times.

"It's good to have those options, it's good to have all these players that are wanting to go forward and are very direct and wanting to score goals.

"We're all going to get ourselves in the box - it doesn't matter who scores, we're going to be causing teams real headaches," he added.

The Socceroos will need to call upon those positive traits if they are to continue their dominance in the tournament.

In terms of populations, the AFC Asian Cup is the largest continental tournament in the world, with participating countries making up more than three billion people - over a third of the world's population.

Having played his first season in J League, the tournament's gravity is not lost on Nabbout.

"It's a massive tournament for every Asian team, but especially being in Japan, it's amplified," said Nabbout.

"They take it very seriously and they treat it as another World Cup.

"I played against a lot of the boys that are in the national team and it's going to be a good test for us," added Nabbout.

At the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Socceroos are drawn in Group B alongside Jordan, Palestine and Syria. They will kick-off their campaign against Jordan on January 6 at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain before travelling to Rashid Stadium in Dubai to face Palestine on January 11.

The Socceroos will then take on Syria in their last Group B match on January 15 at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

Before the tournament commences, Australia will play Oman in an international friendly against Oman on Sunday (December 30).

(Source: AFC Media)

Story first published: Friday, December 28, 2018, 15:14 [IST]
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