‘We can get better and will get better’: Peupion insists Joeys are ready for Hungary

Midfielder Cameron Peupion says the Joeys have quickly moved on from Sunday’s narrow loss to Ecuador and are ready to kickstart their FIFA U17 World Cup campaign against Hungary on Wednesday (AEDT).

Trevor Morgan’s side produced a stirring second-half fightback against the South American’s but it wasn’t enough to overturn a slow start as they lost 2-1 in Goiânia, Brazil.

It wasn’t the start to the tournament the squad expected but their hopes of progressing through the group stage are far from over.

Peupion says the Joeys have learned some valuable lessons from their opening match which will ensure they are ready to go against Hungary at the Estadio Olimpico on Wednesday morning (AEDT).

“I’m proud of the boys. We did put in a good performance, we fought for a draw which we couldn’t get in the end,” Peupion told socceroos.com.au.

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“It was disappointing but we definitely go into Hungary in a couple of days try and get a result from that.

“Straight after the game there was disappointment in the room but that got cut out quite quickly and we realised that we need to focus on the next game.

“All that has been forgotten, we’ve taken the positives out of it, we’ve looked over the game and we’re ready now.

“We’re all confident as a team we can be better and we will be better.”

Peupion was a big part of Australia’s superb second-half showing, coming off the bench and immediately causing the Ecuador defence problems.

“I was itching to get on,” the Sydney FC playmaker said.

“When I got told to go and warm up the excitement started to kick in, I thought ‘this could be the chance I get to go on the field and hopefully make a difference for the team’.

“Emotions were going through the roof but you have to control that and play like a normal game because you can’t let your emotions get to you.”

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Peupion says the tight bond in the squad is the reason they are confident they can turn things around, starting with Hungary on Wednesday morning (kick-off 10am).

“The boys have been together almost three weeks now and it’s really brought us closer together as a team and the spirit is really good and really high and the training's been really good,” he said.

“The team culture is great. We come from all different parts of Australia and overseas as well and when we come together it’s like we’re family.

“We respect each other a lot and that’s really important.”

Remaining Joeys group matches

Australia v Hungary
Date: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Venue: Estadio Olimpico, Goiania, Brazil
Kick-off: 8.00pm (local) – 10.00am (AEDT) Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Broadcast: Live in Australia via SBS and theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Australia v Nigeria 
Date: Friday, 1 November 2019
Venue: Estadio Bezerrao, Brasilia (Gama), Brazil
Kick-off: 5.00pm (local) – 7.00am (AEDT) Saturday, 2 November 2019
Broadcast: Live in Australia via SBS and theworldgame.sbs.com.au

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