Trevor Morgan, the head coach of the Australian Under-16, will be looking to bring the team to the next level after failing to make the final of the AFC Under-16 Championship Malaysia 2018 following their 3-1 loss to Japan in the semi-final.
In spirte of their defeat to the young Blue Samurai side, the Australians still mak the cut for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru.
“For us, the challenge before we go to the World Cup is to solve what happens next,” said Morgan.
“To be fitter, to be smarter with our decision making and bettering all of our quality. It was a good lesson for us.”
Australia took an early seventh minute lead when Noah Botic converted a penalty before Japan fought back in the second half with Shoji Toyama scoring a brace and Shunsuke Mito sealing the win with his 78th minute strike.
“They were mistakes born from fatigue, I think Japan had sustained pressure in that period of the match, so a mistake was coming, whether it was great football from them or a mistake from us,” he said.
“That’s where Australian football needs to improve. We will be working on that solidly leading up to the World Cup next year.
“I hope the people watching, who aren’t involved with the team, feel that there was a good display of football.
“There were a lot of good things that came out of what they boys did, the margin of error at this level is very small and congratulations to Japan because their level is very high.”
