Caltex Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou is comfortable with five of his players arriving in Adelaide on Monday ahead of next Thursday’s massive World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia.
“Tomi [Juric] will play on Saturday night, Mat Ryan’s playing tomorrow morning and [Aziz] Behich, [Ryan] McGowan and [Milos] Degenek will all play on the weekend.
“But that’s normal. We usually have the whole squad playing on the weekend," Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday after announcing his 23-man squad for June.
Juric will be in action for his Swiss club Luzern. Ryan with Belgian outfit Genk, Behich at Bursaspor in Turkey, McGowan in China and Degenek in Japan's J-League.
Ange names Caltex Socceroos 23-man squad for June
Postecolgou will be sweating on his players getting through those games unscathed before they take a plane to the SA capital.
“From our perspective, having the rest of the guys in on Saturday will be great because we start doing work with the majority of the squad. And ease into things rather than being too rushed.
“The ones that come in on the Monday they’ll be ready to go – it’s a normal international window for them.”
As for the Saudis, they will have had almost a month to prepare for this crucial game.
Why the Saudi Arabia clash is massive
A two-week camp in Germany followed by arriving in Adelaide this week will see Bert Van Marwijk's men in the best possible shape for the game.
The Caltex Socceroos tackle Saudi Arabia in a crucial World Cup Qualifer in Adelaide on June 8. Click Here for Tickets
