Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak says he is raring to go ahead of Australia’s friendly with Croatia on Saturday morning.
The Crystal Palace midfielder has been kept in cotton wool by medical staff since suffering a groin strain on the final day of the Premier League season three weeks ago.
But the holding midfielder admits he has been ‘itching to go’ for a while and looks set to play some part in the Socceroos’ final hit out before their tournament opener against Chile on June 13.
“It’s going to vital in our preparation, it will give us a good indication against strong opposition,” he said.
“I think everyone’s looking forward to it, it’s going to be a tough test but one we’ll be prepared for.”
Meanwhile we continue our World Cup group previews and this time Jedinak casts his eye over Group F which includes Argentina, Bosnia, Nigeria and Iran.
Argentina led by Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi are overwhelming favourites to win the group and unsurprisingly Jedinak is tipping them to have a big tournament.
“Looking at it on paper, they’re one of the strongest teams and probably one of the pre-tournament favourites,” he said.
“Headlined by Messi and Aguero, they’re going to fancy their chances and rightly so.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina are competing at their first World Cup but Jedinak believes they have the quality to progress from the group.
“They’ve got a lot of experienced players, they’re headlined by Dzeko but there is a lot of quality in that team,” he said.
“They could be unpredictable and a surprise packet that’s for sure.”
Nigeria, the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Champions – cannot be underestimated.
“They’re a good team, if they get through its not going to be a huge shock to me,” Jedinak said.
“They won the Cup of Nations for a reason but it will be difficult in that group.”
“I think the first team (to progress) will be Argentina and I might go Bosnia just ahead of Nigeria,” Jedinak added.
The Socceroos play Croatia in a friendly on Friday night (kick off 9am AEST time Saturday morning live on Fox Sports) ahead of their tournament opener against Chile on June 13.
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