With a qualifier in Abu Dhabi to follow Thursday's clash with Iraq, Caltex Socceroo coach Ange Postecoglou says conserving energy won’t be part of his plan against the Iraqis in Perth or the match with UAE.
Australia are putting the final touches to their preparation for this vital clash with Iraq - the first in the Caltex Socceroos’ final phase of qualification – to be played on Thursday night at Perth’s Rectangular Stadium.
The following day, the team will then fly out to the UAE to prepare to meet Mahdi Ali’s men on Tuesday night in Abu Dhabi, where temperatures during the day are tipped to push past 40 degrees.
And while it should be cooler during the night, conserving energy against Iraq ahead of the second game was dismissed by Postecoglou.
“We kind of pride ourselves on being already prepared for the challenges, then nothing is a surprise,” he told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
“We’ve trialled this kind of scenario of playing in Australia and going into the Middle East a couple of days later.
"We know exactly what works, we know exactly how our players adapt.
“Nothing is a surprise. We knew it was going to be hot. We know how this works, we know exactly.
“So it won't be about conserving energy or players. We’ll go hard at it tomorrow and hard at it on Tuesday [next week] because that’s the work we’ve done over the last 18 months, to prepare for what’s ahead."
Postecoglou noted all his players presented themselves in camp fit and ready. Norway-based Alex Gersbach was the last player to arrive in the WA capital yesterday.
The team will train at the stadium on Wednesday night ahead of what will be full stadium in Perth.
Postecoglou added: “The first three days of camp have been about tomorrow. After tomorrow it’ll be about the next game.”
