2018 World Cup qualifier: UAE sterner opponent at home, says Milligan

Abu Dhabi - With 21 appearances for the Capital club, the Aussie knows too well the conditions

As Australia prepare for the UAE round of Fifa World Cup qualifiers, they possess a strategical weapon in the form of Mark Milligan.
The 31-year-old Baniyas midfielder has been playing here since 2015. With 21 appearances for the Capital club, he knows too well the conditions and ways to last 90 minutes in the enduring Abu Dhabi weather.
"I think we are going to have to be at our best over there in what will be difficult conditions but it's as hard for them as it is for us," he told Fox Sports.
And he knows more than a thing or two about his opponents at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night.
"The UAE will prove to be a sterner opposition at home. They are a very well-drilled squad, they have some very good individual players and I think over the last year or two they have come together as a team," he said.
"They showed that in the Asian Cup and throughout the qualifying so far," Milligan said.
He said the UAE's overseas conditioning camp will hold them in good stead.
"They have been together for a long time and have been building up to this qualification period for quite a while. For the last two months they have been preparing for Japan and for us."
According to him, Ange Postecoglou's side can switch strategies even during a game.
"Honestly we're so well drilled in everyone's position that it makes it a lot easier when we do have to move around or swap, even during a game."
In the game against Iraq, Postecoglou switched Milligan from midfield to centre-back. "I don't mind where I play," he added.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com