Graham Arnold’s men opened their Intercontinental Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Croatia late on Friday night and now look forward to crossing swords with Chile tonight (11pm kick off AEST).
The final group match is then against Togo the following Tuesday.

The Perth Glory full-back and his teammates had to deal with predominantly Asian opponents in qualifying for the Olympics but the youngster insists the coaching staff were spot in picking a preparation tournament bursting with such contrasts.

He told au.fourfourtwo.com: “We’ve got a lot on our plate but we’re looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

Topor-Stanley, who says getting the chance to represent the green and gold in Beijing would be a ‘massive’ honour, says the Intercontinental tournament is an excellent way of furthering young players’ footballing education.

He said: “This Malaysia tournament is definitely good preparation for us. I think we need to play against European teams and South American teams, teams who play different types of football.

“We have been playing against an Asian type football (in qualifying for Beijing). You have to adapt to all types of football at international level and we have to be ready for everything and anything if we want have a chance at the Olympics.”

Topor-Stanley knows he has a chance to stake a real claim for not only an Olympic spot over these next few weeks but also to plant further food for thought in Pim Verbeek’s mind. Left-backs are not a commodity in plentiful supply for the coach.

Having said that, Dean Heffernan’s return to fitness means Topor-Stanley is not completely without competition.

He said: “I guess there is a bit of pressure on me but then I put pressure on myself.”