Caltex Socceroos striker Tomi Juric loves the pressure of a World Cup qualifier.
PRESSURE OF QUALIFICATION?
“Pressure comes when you’re expected to qualify for a World Cup. I don’t see that as a bad thing.
“Qualifying for a World Cup is not supposed to be easy," he told reporters on Saturday after the team touched down in Sydney.
Caltex Socceroos: Group B results and ladder
“We play against these difficult nations in these kinds of conditions. And we deal with it quite well.
“And when we come home we always put on a good show. And play good football and most of the time we get a good result and I believe on Tuesday night we’ll do that."
And even without maestro Aaron Mooy, Juric is confident.
"We've got depth in the squad.
"We believe in what we do and we're going to go to a World Cup."
HOME SUPPORT
Australia face UAE at Allianz on Tuesday night with a win a must.
“We know play at home in front of our fans playing our football, I expect us to dominate,” added Juric.
"We play now at home which is always delightful.
“I expect us to win this game and get three points.”
MIGHTY MITCH
Juric has backed Mitch Langerak if selected against UAE on Tuesday, after the Stuttgart shot-stopper’s heroics in Tehran.
Langerak, 28, a long time squad keeper in the national team, was selected ahead of regular number one Mat Ryan of Valencia (on loan at Genk in Belgium) against Iraq on Thursday.
The German 2.Bundesliga club VFB Stuttgart keeper revealed later the selection took him by surprise.
"I don't see why he was surprised. He's in great form at Stuttgart and he deserves his chance. He did quite well the other night."
The big Queenslander, in his seventh appearance for the national team, delivered big-time producing two class stops to keep the Iraqis out.
It was Langerak’s first appearance since playing against Macedonia in 2015.
PUBLIC TRAINING SESSION AT FAN DAY
After resting on Saturday, the Caltex Socceroos will train at North Sydney on Sunday as part of a fan day.
The Caltex Socceroos tackle UAE in a crucial World Cup Qualifier in Sydney on March 28. Click here for tickets