Australia are taking nothing for granted in Qatar

Everton's Tim Cahill is wary of being seen as Asian Cup favourites and the Australians look to use memories of their below-par 2007 campaign to push them on.

Tim Cahill, pictured right relaxing with his Australian teammates in training in Qatar, is not taking today's game with India lightly. Toru Hanai / Reuters

If there was ever a time to play down expectations ahead of a cup encounter, the day directly proceeding England's FA Cup weekend would rank high.

The famous competition regularly produces surprise results that go against the form books and the past two days have been no different as the third round was played.

Today, however, would eclipse the entire fixture schedule if footballing minnows India, ranked No 142 in the world, the lowest rated side at this month's Asian Cup, could do the unfathomable: topple Australia, ranked 26th - the highest of all 16 competing teams.

Lucas Neill, the Australia captain, and his teammate Tim Cahill have played enough FA Cup games to know you cannot take anything for granted in this game.

Neill, a defender with West Ham United, and Cahill, Everton's goalscoring midfielder, will line up at the Jasim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha today with the world expecting a scoreline more fitting to Australia's favoured sport, cricket.

Yet, despite India suffering a striker shortage and having conceded 14 goals in two friendly games against the UAE and Kuwait, neither Cahill nor Neill are not taking things for granted.

"I wouldn't say we are overconfident, it's one of those things when you need to build up," Cahill said. "I don't like hearing we are favourites. I would disagree with that. In football anything can happen. India could cause all sorts of upsets."

The countries have only met twice before, with India winning both matches in 1956, while Australia's Asian Cup experience is brief.

They made their debut in the 2007 competition after agreeing to swap Oceania for the Asian Football Confederation, but started with a draw with Oman, lost in the group stages to Iraq before being eliminated on penalties by Japan in the quarter-finals. Neill missed a spot-kick in the shoot-out and says the team are using the memories of their previous campaign as an incentive to do better this year.

"We want to get off to a good start against India, that's what all the focus is on at the moment. But obviously there was a lot of disappointment last time and it's a motivational tool. We will be using all the negatives and turning them into positives."

Cahill, however, says the experience of 2007 has been banished from his memory and that he is looking forward rather than back. After India, Australia will face South Korea and Bahrain.

"I don't want to underestimate the Asian teams because I know how good they are," he said.

"You see with the result we had against the UAE [the sides drew 0-0 last week in an exhibition in Al Ain] that there are a lot of good teams around the Asian vicinity."

Neill added: "We are hoping that the group we are in is tough enough to be testing, but that we can get the points to go through. Then once we are in the knock-out stages, we will be looking to put in professional performances and reach the exciting games and play for medals."

Unlike in the FA Cup, defeat today would not spell the end for either side. The top two in each group progress. Korea meet Bahrain tonight in Group C's other match.

5.15pm, Abu Dhabi Sports