Socceroos unfazed by late arrivals for Adelaide showcase
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou isn’t fazed by the late arrival of three players for a looming World Cup qualifier.
Goalkeepers Mat Ryan and Mitch Langerak and midfielder Robbie Kruse arrived in Adelaide last night, some 48 hours before Thursday night’s kick-off against Tajikistan at Adelaide Oval.
The trio will train with the rest of Postecoglou’s 23-man squad today, with the coach unconcerned by their brief lead-in to the game.
“We are kind of used to this situation now,” Postecoglou said.
“And the players need to accept that; that is part of the process in getting the players to switch from club thinking to international thinking.
“While at club level you have two or three days to recover, to compose yourself, you have got to come in here and be ready.”
The Socceroos top their group with two games – against Tajikistan and versus Jordan in Sydney next Tuesday – remaining in the first phase of qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
Cahill meets SA fans. Photo: Socceroos, Twitter.
Most of the squad assembled in Adelaide on Sunday night and Monday.
“I wouldn’t put all the [late arriving] guys in but two of the three are goalkeepers so they’ll be okay,” Postecoglou said.
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“We will have a look how Krusey is.
“Whenever we face the first game in a window, I’m always looking at guys who have coped well with the travel, with their last game, all those kind of things, to make sure that we have a strong team out there knowing there’s another game four days later.
“Mitch hasn’t been with us a lot, he had some injuries, but [Ryan] is well aware of our game style.”
-AAP
