Five things to watch: Socceroos v Chinese Taipei

Australia face Chinese Taipei on Tuesday night (AEDT) in a bid to make it three out of three so far in Group B of their 2022 World Cup qualification group. It should be a tighter game than the 5-0 win over Nepal last week but regardless, there are plenty of questions that will be answered.

Questions will be answered when the Socceroos take on Chinese Taipei on Tuesday night Source: Getty Images

WATCH Chinese Taipei v Australia from 10:25pm (AEDT) Tuesday LIVE on SBS VICELAND and streamed live via The World Game website / app and SBS On Demand. 

Will Rene Meulensteen be Chinese Taipei's secret weapon?

The former Fulham boss and Manchester United coach has had a varied managerial career taking him from his home, the Netherlands to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, England, Russia, Denmark, Israel, India and, now, Australia as Graham Arnold’s assistant.

Yet he has been an influence on Chinese Taipei's up and coming coach, Englishman Louis Lancaster.

So much so, Lancaster interviewed Meulensteen as part of his coaching licence course.

Spending a few hours picking the brains of the experienced Dutch tactician is not only a worthy exercise in its own right, it may have given Chinese Taipei a little insight into how Australia do things. Every little helps.

Can the other strikers follow Maclaren’s example?

Jamie Maclaren quadrupled his international goalscoring tally against Nepal and while the opposition was not the strongest, it can’t do his confidence any harm and does reduce pressure a little.

When commentators roll out the stats then 4 in 14 sounds a lot better than one in 13.

There are a few other Socceroo strikers who could do with a similar boost. 

Apostolos Giannou and Adam Taggart have managed five goals in 21 games between them and wouldn’t mind a run out in Chinese Taipei.

If the forwards can find their form ahead of next month’s trip to Amman then the toughest fixture in the group, at least on paper, may not be that bad at all.

Can Australia stop Chen Po-Liang?

The Chinese Taipei squad has plenty of semi-professional players in its ranks which means there is plenty of responsibility on the shoulders of those who are fully pro.

Chen Po-Liang has been a feature of the Chinese Super League for a number of years and is the captain and mainstay of the Chinese Taipei team too.

If the 31 year-old, who told The World Game recently he wouldn’t mind a stint in the A-League, is given space to play then he can unlock the Socceroo defence. 

He likes to play on the right where he has freedom to roam across the attacking line. The skipper is not one of those creative types who fails to put in a defensive shift.

With Australia expected to push forward, Chen is likely to be busy in both sides of the pitch.

He will relish the task.

Can Australia create more from open play?

Not many leave the sleepy English fishing port of Fleetwood for international duty and even fewer have such a dream debut like Harry Souttar.

The former Scotland youth international scored in each half and was a constant thorn in the Nepali side at set pieces. Just two centimetres short of two metres, the 20 year-old defender is probably the tallest player in Asian football along with Kim Shin-wook of South Korea.

‘Wookie’ scored four against Sri Lanka but his presence on the pitch does lead to team-mates pumping high ball after high ball into the area.

With Souttar on the field, Australia didn’t have to show too much imagination from set pieces but a little more creativity from open play would be welcome.

Can Chinese Taipei provide a tougher test than Nepal?

The real problem against Nepal was that it was all a little too easy.

This was always going to be the case against a team ranked 161 in the world.

While qualification is all about getting the three points, coach Arnold wouldn’t mind a tougher test. Being away will help and Chinese Taipei , ranked at 129, had no game last week and have been training for two weeks straight. 

It is great for the strikers to find and fill their shooting boots but there will come a time in qualification -especially in the next phase - when the defence will come under serious pressure.

This should be a win for Australia but it would be great if the backline could get tested a little more.