3 minute read

Socceroos hero Ajdin Hrustic is confident Australia can prove their doubters wrong by defeating Peru next week to secure a World Cup 2022 berth.

Understandably high on confidence, Socceroos hero Ajdin Hrustic says Australia have nothing to fear going into next week's winner-take-all World Cup play-off against Peru.

The 25-year-old, Australia's breakout star of the qualifying campaign, scored an 84th-minute winner in Tuesday night's (Wednesday AEST) 2-1 play-off triumph over the United Arab Emirates in Qatar.

Hrustic's powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area, which took a big deflection on its way in, continues a monumental period in his career after helping German club Eintracht Frankfurt lift their first European trophy in 42 years last month.

Hrustic scored a penalty in that shootout win over Rangers in Seville and is quickly becoming the key attacking cog in Graham Arnold's line-up - particularly with Tom Rogic having withdrawn from the camp due to personal reasons.

"We don't need to have fear," Hrustic said ahead of the clash with world No.22-ranked Peruvians.

"We're preparing well and we deserved this win.

"We're going to prepare for the next game, we've got some time and time is always great.

"We can work on our defensive tactics and our offensive tactics and then I think it will pay off at the end."

Having fired Australia within 90 minutes of a fifth-straight World Cup finals, Hrustic says the key to overcoming the more-fancied South Americans is a simple matter of hard work.

"We put a lot of time, effort and a lot of meetings into this and it comes down to 90 minutes," he said.

"Sometimes people don't realise how difficult it all is ... it hasn't been easy for us and we've always been able to come back.

"This is what makes us so special.

"One half down and the second one to go."