Here we go, one last match before we wave goodbye to a new look Socceroos team.
In a friendly litmus test, Australia will be showing the world what it’s got before it heads to the World Cup.
The team’s underdog status will remain win or lose on Monday, but our group B counterparts will have one eye fixed on the match, hoping to see what they will be up against.
Training has been brutal, says Socceroo Massimo Luongo, boasting that the training camps have been the toughest of his career
“It’s been really intense,” the 21-year-old said to socceroos.com.au.
“It’s like half pre-season and half getting ready for the World Cup with tactical too. It’s got everything jammed into one session.”
Shifting base to Sydney last week, the team has been keeping to short sharp drills, and has even gotten a normally subdued Ange Postecoglou extremely animated.
The pressure of what’s at hand must be a huge weight to be holding, but the coach isn’t getting too worried at the moment.
Sadly, the South African side that will be taking on the Socceroos on Monday won’t be at full strength, dampening the glory of what can be a strong win.
Eleven players, including veterans Kagisho Dikgacoi, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Bernard Parker, Tsepo Masilela and Itumeleng Khune and Siyanda Xulu have
withdrawn from selection with injuries from their club campaigns.
Postecoglou has admitted meeting the under-performing team is a disappointment for his preparations.
“We obviously want a decent test and a decent hit-out, and we’re still hopeful they’ll send out a strong enough team,” Postecoglou said.
“We definitely want to make sure the opposition make it tough for us because we’re going to a World Cup. I’m just hoping it all gets sorted out in time.
“That game was always going to be more about us than the opposition. From our perspective, our outcomes don’t change because we can only control our side of things.”
Postecoglou has mentioned he’ll be trying out new things on the pitch on Monday, and won’t be bowing to pressure to get the team in World Cup formation as soon as possible.
He hasn’t given anything away for his final 23, with all players still working on the belief they can be picked.
Captain Mile Jedinak will be fighting for fitness and missed out on a couple of training sessions during the week. His place in the squad on Monday isn’t certain.
“I want to give the boys every opportunity and a lot of it will just be how they cope with training,” Postecoglou said.
“They’re all coming in at different stages of fitness and in different stages of the season – some have finished their season, others are halfway through – so we’ll see how they cope right through until the South Africa game.”
The Socceroos have only one fixture after the South Africa friendly, a match against Croatia in Brazil on June 6, before facing Chile in the group stages of the World Cup.
Socceroos vs South Africa,
Monday 26 May 2014, ANZ Stadium, Sydney.
Kick-off: 7:30 pm
Tickets from $30, including public transport.
