During the World Cup, Backpage Football's co-editor Neil Sherwin told Team 33 that Australia's real target was hosting the Asian Cup on home soil.
A young squad has made it all the way to the final and standing between them and a first ever Asian Cup trophy is South Korea.
With anticipation building to a fascinating match-up between two Asian powerhouses, I caught up with Neil who joined me on the line from Sydney.
He chatted about subjects such as the Socceroos' approach, whether they can be too one-dimensional when playing with star man Tim Cahill and how the young players like goalkeeper Matt Ryan and Matthew Leckie benefited hugely from their adventure in Brazil last summer.
Plus he previewed how the final could be won and lost. Listen in below:
Neil also gave me an insight into the mood in Australia, which had been reticent before the tournament (especially among some elements of the AFL crowd).
I also spoke to Jae Hyeok-Lee of The Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors podcast to get the perspective from Korea.
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