A preferable World Cup draw is on the line as the Socceroos take on Venezuela in Houston on Saturday AEDT.
Australia is currently seeded 26th on the projected FIFA rankings with 1584 points, but they’ll need to climb into the top 24 to qualify for the Pot 2 category, which would give Tony Popovic’s men an easier draw for next year’s World Cup campaign in Northern America.
If Australian can topple Venezuela on Saturday and defeat Colombia on Wednesday, they could potentially leapfrog the likes of South Korea, Ecuador and Austria in the rankings, pending other results.
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Socceroos coach Popovic is set to take a cautious approach with key midfield pair Jackson Irvine and Riley McGree in their return to Australia’s squad.
Irvine, 32, has missed the Socceroos’ previous three camps due to foot and muscle injuries he suffered at his German Bundesliga club St. Pauli.
England-based McGree has also been affected by injuries, with the 27-year-old Middlesbrough star absent during the September and October international windows.
Irvine and McGree have only recently returned to club action, with both making gradual progress.
Despite the pair’s limited minutes, they did enough to be recalled to the Socceroos squad, with Popovic keen to integrate them back into his plans ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup.
“It’s been good to have them back with their experience (and) their quality that they have,” Popovic said ahead of his side’s clash with the Venezuelans.
“They’ve missed a lot of minutes, a lot of training time, and it takes a little while to get back to the standards that they expect and where they were prior to their injuries, but it’s great to have them back, and I’m sure they’ll be able to contribute.
“We’re mindful of not exposing the two of them too much but also very open-minded to playing them in either of these games.”
McGree said he was “feeling good” and “feeling strong”.
“Whatever capacity I’m involved in here, I’ll put my best foot forward and I’ll support those who are playing, and if I get the opportunity to play, then I’ll be right amongst it and having a good go,” the former A-League star said.
“We’ve got some potential debutants and a good mix of young players, some senior players and some players in the middle … and that’s always important to keep the unity and keep the relationships fresh, and it’s only going to benefit us.”
Saturday’s match will the Socceroos’ first since an 11-match unbeaten run under Popovic came to end with a 2-1 loss to the USA in Denver last month.
“We’ve been working on a few things with the ball, but it’s just getting better at identifying the moments, identifying that if someone is pressing us, that we identify where the space is and how we can penetrate a high line,” Popovic said.
“If we’re playing against a deeper block, then we’re more patient, and we make the right decisions to create those overloads and hurt an opponent in a different way.
“Then (we want) just a little bit more around the front third in terms of our movement into the box to just try to create more fluency in that area.
“You don’t get a lot of time with the players, so you try to hone in on a couple of areas but (also) try to solidify the things that you’ve been doing well to keep the foundation strong.
“I’m confident we’ll see more things added to our game in these two matches.”
The friendly between Australia and Venezuela gets underway on Saturday at 1.30pm AEDT.
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