Source: Team_Talk
Cahill admits to defensive strategy
Tim Cahill has no qualms about admitting Australia will look to play it tight in their World Cup opener against Germany on Sunday.[LNB] The Socceroos have faced accusations of negativity from the opposition camp with Germany boss Joachim Low saying: "Australia can be expected to offer anything but a great spectacle."[LNB]With 20 goals from 40 international appearances, Everton midfielder Cahill is widely regarded as Australia's biggest threat going forward and he remains unfazed by Low's outburst.[LNB]"Let them throw stones, we'll just cop it on the chin," he said.[LNB]"There is a lot of talk about the Germans talking us down and how well they are going to do and for us that is a positive.[LNB]"We are going into the game as underdogs and hopefully try to make our imprint on the game as soon as possible."[LNB]Cahill was surprised to hear of the criticism being directed at Australia from Germany considering the Germans' reputation for winning games based around defence over the years.[LNB]"It definitely doesn't bother us," he said.[LNB]"What do they want - this is a World Cup, it's one of the biggest sporting events in the world so for us as long as we stay defensively compact and then hit them on the break and see what happens, then that is the main thing for us."[LNB]But Cahill knows the Germans will be tough to beat despite not having the same kind of experience in their ranks as past teams with captain Michael Ballack to miss the tournament through injury.[LNB]"It's hard to compare (this German team to the one which reached the semi-finals four years ago) because they are missing a lot of big names but then it opens the door for the youngsters to come through and obviously they have got a lot of talent there already," he added.[LNB]"So they are a very good outfit and they have always been there or thereabouts in most of the competitions they have played in over the years so they are going to be very competitive."
