Asian Cup hero James Troisi is pumped to be back in the Socceroos' camp for this week's clash with Jordan in Amman after the relatively short flight from his new base in Saudi Arabia.
And if Ange Postecoglou is looking for some inside knowledge on Jordan players for Friday morning’s (AEDT) FIFA Russia World Cup 2018™ Qualifier, he should look no further than Troisi.
The Asian Cup hero’s recent move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad his given him an insight into football in the gulf, where most of Jordan’s squad ply their trade.
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“Like any league you have your top teams with better players and your lower teams,” Troisi told FFA TV.
“There is definitely a lot of talent there, especially the locals they do have a lot of ability and we’ve seen that through the Asian Cup and the last few years.
“It’s definitely going to be difficult and it this time of the year the conditions are pretty tough. It’s quite hot over there but here it seems to be a bit cooler [in Amman] so we shouldn’t have any problems here as well.
“…So far it’s been pretty good. It’s a little bit different in terms of lifestyle but I have no complaints. It’s [Al-Ittihad] a massive club.”
Confidence is high in the Socceroos squad which is currently on an eight-game unbeaten run dating back to January’s Asian Cup.
“It’s fantastic to see and we want to continue that. This is going to be a good test for us but we’re in a good way at the moment with the team and the football that we’re playing,” Troisi said.
“We did really well in the Asian Cup and know we want to continue that and that’s what we’ve done.
“…The style of football we’re playing is fantastic.
“We’re in some tough conditions sometimes but we’ve got a model and a way we want to play football and we’re going to continue that and progress further up.”
