Caltex Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren talks to the media in Adelaide on Saturday.
It’s Saturday and most of the Caltex Socceroos are now in Adelaide and have begun preparations for Thursday night at Adelaide Oval.
Maclaren, who inked a deal with German Bundesliga outfit SV Darmstadt FC last month, fronted the media before training on Saturday.
On Thursday night’s opponents Saudi Arabia
“I know they’ll come here wanting to get a result but for us we’re at home. We want the fans to come [to Adelaide Oval] in numbers. We need that, when you have the whole country behind you. They’ll be prepared but we’ll be even more prepared.”
Group B Standings
| Pos. | Pts | P | W | D | L | GD | Form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Japan | 16 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
WDWWW
|
| 2 |
|
Saudi Arabia | 16 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
DWLWW
|
| 3 |
|
Australia | 13 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
DDDDW
|
| 4 |
|
United Arab Emirates | 9 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -3 |
WLWLL
|
| 5 |
|
Iraq | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -3 |
LWLDL
|
| 6 |
|
Thailand | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -16 |
LLDLL
|
- Pts
- Points
- P
- Played
- W
- Win
- D
- Draw
- L
- Lose
- GD
- Goals Difference
Vibe in the Aussie camp
“There’s a lot of confidence in the group.A lot of the boys have done some really good things this year.”
Importance of Thursday night for Australia’s chances of automatic qualification to the next World Cup
“It’s the biggest [game] of the last two years of qualifying. Just huge. People actually don’t realise this is a massive game in Australian football.”
Saudis’ game plan
“We’ll just worry about ourselves. With the new structure [3-4-3], which I think the boss will stick with though changing our style, we can do that. We’re not too fussed about them [Saudi Arabia] – we know we have one goal which is three points.”
Pressure
“You don’t embrace it. You enjoy it. And there are a lot of big game players in the [Australian] squad.”
Maclaren’s current fitness
“I trained at AAMI Park after the A-League season with [physio] Les Gelis but when you play 35 games in the A-League season, having 10 days off isn’t a problem. And I stayed injury free this season [at Brisbane Roar] which I’m pretty proud of.”
The Caltex Socceroos tackle Saudi Arabia in a crucial World Cup Qualifer in Adelaide on June 8. Click Here for Tickets
Source : Football Federation Australia
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