OAKLAND, California -- Australia great respect for Mohamed Salah and Egypt, but Socceroos flyer Jordan Bos says that the team is under no illusions that Friday's FIFA World Cup round of 32 clash is anything other than "eat or be eaten."
All eyes in the buildup have been on the fitness of Salah after the Pharaohs talisman was forced from the field in the second half of their 1-1 draw with Iran last week, suffering from what team doctor Dr. Mohamed Abou El-Ela confirmed was a hamstring complaint.
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Salah was absent from training on Monday, instead doing rehabilitation work alongside defenders Ahmed Fatouh and Mohamed Abdelmonem. Hamdy Fathy, for his part, was a limited participant in the session as he targets a return to a midfield that will be without the suspended Mohanad Lasheen.
Needless to say, the ability of the Liverpool legend to feature looms as one of the match's biggest storylines but, no matter what role he plays, the Australian defence won't allow themselves to be overawed.
"Maybe off the field there's some respect, but on the field there's no respect," Bos explained. "It's eat or be eaten. That's how everyone's going to go into the game, and that's how I'll go into the game.
"Mo Salah is a top player. He's been at the top for a very long time. We'll definitely have to look at how we can stop him and Egypt. We've already done a little bit about that, and it's just fine tuning and seeing what the coach and the staff have in mind to help us with that."
Australia eased into the knockout stages with a 0-0 draw with Paraguay last Friday, which combined with their opening 2-0 win over Türkiye to give them two clean sheets at the same World Cup for just the second time.
Despite fielding largely unheralded names -- albeit Bos and fellow defender Alessandro Circati seem destined for major moves -- that means that the Socceroos defence has already blunted the likes of Arda Güler, Kenan Yıldız, and Julio Enciso this tournament, with Salah and Manchester City's Omar Marmoush next on the agenda.
"We respect every opponent," said Ajdin Hrustić. "It doesn't matter who it is, we'll be ready, we'll prepare, and the main focus is us, it's all about us, and we got to do the job.
"He's had a great career, he's done a lot for Liverpool. We respect every opponent and every player, but the focus is us, right? It's about us, what we will do, how we will manage another clean sheet, and how we will score.
"I think they will press, I think they will push that forward, and I think there will be a bit of space. Like every other team and country, you'll have to find a space; some are between lines, some are behind, some are somewhere else. So this is something that we're going to prepare for."
Of course, alongside their two clean sheets, the Socceroos are yet to score since Connor Metcalfe put them up 2-0 over the Turks. But Bos believes they're close to opening things up in front of goal.
"There hasn't been much to address," said Bos. "I think the goals will come. We had a couple chances [against Paraguay] and on a different day, I think we will score."
The Socceroos departed their World Cup base at the Claremont Resort in Berkeley for one final time on Tuesday, flying into Dallas a day early as they ramp up preparations for their meeting with the African powers.
Friday's game will kick-off at 4 a.m. on Saturday on the Australian east coast, and with the nation once again getting swept up in its quadrennial bout of men's World Cup fever, it's hoped the fixture will pack out live sites such as Federation Square and deliver more record-breaking ratings.
"Everyone will be out on Friday night, they'll leave the club at three and prepare for the game at 4 a.m.," laughed Hrustić.