Socceroos braced for Tajikistan wall

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou knows the best way to break a Tajikistan wall.

Straight through. And quickly.

And it's the only way as far as Postecoglou is concerned in Thursday night's World Cup qualifier against the defensively-minded Tajiks in Adelaide.

"If a team sits back on you, the best thing you can do is ask them some questions early on," he said.

"And if you can get a goal early on it throws their game plan out the window.

"Even if it wasn't that kind of (defensive) team, regardless we want to be a team that wants to dominate games right from the start.

"We want to play high tempo. We want to play really positive aggressive football and you need to test that against all kinds of opposition, so this will be one of those tests."

Australia are all-but assured of advancing to the next phase of qualifying for the 2018 soccer showcase - the Tajiks are no chance.

Tajikistan's coach Mubin Ergashev has forecast a dour approach from his side, saying he'd be content with a draw.

"Our team used to play attacking football. But tomorrow we can't do it," Ergashev said.

"Everybody knows how we are going to play. Against the Socceroos, I don't think many teams can play not with defensive tactics."

Which doesn't bother Postecoglou one bit.

"We know everything we need to know about them," Postecoglou said of the Tajiks.

"We are always well prepared. And players expect that now - whether it's Bangladesh, Tajikistan or Germany, that they get the same sort of level of information.

"Sometimes it's hard to get the right sort of footage. But we fill those gaps by making sure the players are well aware of what they're going to face.

"We're expecting ... an opposition who will try and frustrate us, make it hard for us, and it's up to us to find a way imcto get through that."