Caltex Socceroos Assistant Coach Mark van Bommel says fans can expect a fearless approach from Australia when the FIFA World Cup™ gets underway in under a week’s time.
Van Bommel has been working tirelessly alongside Head Coach Bert van Marwijk to prepare the Caltex Socceroos for a challenging Group C in which the side will take on France, Denmark and Peru.
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The former Barcelona man, who fronted the media in place of van Marwijk at the Groupama Arena yesterday, revealed the side will not be kneeling at the feet of their high-ranking opponents when the tournament commences.
“It doesn’t matter for us against which opponent you play because at the World Cup you see a lot of systems,” van Bommel told socceroos.com.au.
“It doesn’t matter if you play against Hungary or against the Czech [Republic], Colombia or Norway, we are teaching our players a style of play that we can play against every opponent.
“That’s why we are developing the team.”
Van Marwijk has employed both 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations in three pre-tournament warm up fixtures so far, with the Caltex Socceroos' boss looking to drill a streetwise outlook into his charges.
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A 4-0 win over the Czech Republic last Friday represented a significant step forward for the side as players continue to absorb the Dutch duo’s rich tournament experience, and van Bommel is hoping to see further improvement from the Caltex Socceroos in tomorrow morning’s friendly against Hungary.
“Of course you want to play better than how we played against Norway, Colombia, [and] Czech Republic. And if we improve that every time then you become a good team.
“But like I said before, you don’t have a guarantee. If the preparation is very good and if you do all things right against Hungary [it doesn’t guarantee] that you’re going to win against France.
“But of course we are doing things well, we’ll try to do it even better.”
“It doesn’t matter how you prepare – of course [if you prepare well] for the confidence its perfect – but next week [at the World Cup] will be totally different.”
The Caltex Socceroos play their final pre-FIFA World Cup™ friendly against Hungary at the Groupama Arena in Budapest on Sunday morning 1.30am AEST (live on Fox Sports and Network Ten)
Stay tuned for exclusive Caltex Socceroos training camp photos, footage and insight on socceroos.com.au or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
