Day 10 Wrap: Juric's unique training in build up to Czech clash

It was back to double sessions for the Caltex Socceroos in Antlaya, Turkey on Tuesday (local time), with captain Mile Jedinak watching on having arrived in camp the previous night.

Midfielder Aaron Mooy trained despite having a wisdom tooth taken out the day before, while a couple of the late-arriving players undertook a couple of FIFA required tests between sessions.

And striker Tomi Juric did some interesting work in the pool with now just a couple of days to go until a crucial pre-World Cup hitout. 

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Here’s a wrap of Day 10 in Socceroos camp, brought to you by Caltex. Stay tuned to www.socceroos.com.au as we provide daily updates before Russia 2018 …

After just one session on Monday, Bert van Marwijk put his troops through two tough sessions on the pitch with the friendly game against Czech Republic (Friday AEST), just a few days away.

Tomi Juric trained again as he continues to build his fitness after an injury lay-off, doing some work on an underwater treadmill.

Trent Sainsbury the only player - besides Jedinak who only arrived the previous night – to miss the morning session as the coaching staff were keen to manage the defender’s loads.

WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES VISION OF CALTEX SOCCEROOS DAY 10 IN TURKEY IN THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE

After the team went through their usual pre-hab and warm up, it was straight into a 7v7 drill and then into small-sided games.

It wasn’t a long session, with the focus of the coaches on re-enforcing some of the principles and methodologies implemented in the opening week of the camp.

And there was no drop-off in pace or intensity, with Andrew Nabbout speaking about the “buzz” of being out on the pitch every day.

“That’s the word to describe it,” the Urawa Reds attacker told www.socceroos.com.au.

“There’s a lot worse places to be than right here. It’s unbelievable, the pace is amazing.

“But the hard work is definitely kicking in and we’re feeling it.”

For some of the players that arrived in Turkey late, the break between sessions required them to undertake ECG and ECHO tests, which is a FIFA requirement before the World Cup.

The afternoon session began with an extensive diagonal passing drill, with van Marwijk pushing his players for perfection.

There was a lot of emphasis good, crisp touches with fast and accurate low passes.

It was then into a long 11v11 match, with van Marwijk trying out many different combinations as he keeps his options open ahead of the Czech Republic match on Friday (9pm AEST).

It’s a crucial match in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup and the last chance for the players to impress before van Marwijk trims his extended 27-man squad down to 23 (on Sunday AEST) for Russia.

“Before coming in I knew it was going to be competitive,” Nabbout said.

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“[I knew] it was going to be fierce at training and it is - tackles are flying in and that’s what you want, you want players to be fighting for a spot in that 23.

“I think all players are working as hard as they can to be there (in Russia). It’s definitely going to give the coaching staff some headaches.”

Tomorrow will see just a morning session before the team flies to Austria for the clash with the Czech Republic.

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