Late arrival Carl Valeri has joined his Qantas Socceroo teammates in Oman and immediately set about putting his domestic disappointment behind him.
Late arrival Carl Valeri has joined his Qantas Socceroo teammates in Oman and immediately set about putting his domestic disappointment behind him.
Despite his best efforts, Valeri was unable to assist his club Sassuolo to a playoff triumph against Sampdoria in Italy-s Serie B promotion series at the weekend.
Valeri scored the only goal for his side in a 1-1 draw that saw Sassuolo drop out of the promotion race as a result of Sampdoria claiming a two-legged tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Soon afterwards, Valeri was bound for the Gulf and has duly traded his club colours for green and gold ahead of Australia-s crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Oman on Friday.
“It-s good, it-s probably been tough because we didn-t get in until 6am this morning so it-s not as if we-re all the happiest bunch of lads,” Valeri joked.
“It-s exciting because we know how important it is to get off to a good start at these World Cup qualifiers and we-re another step closer, so it-s great.”
Valeri was a notable absentee from Australia-s 2-0 loss to Denmark in Copenhagen at the weekend and is a contender to come into the Qantas Socceroos- starting XI at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Capped 45 times in green and gold, Valeri has been a midfield mainstay under coach Holger Osieck in recent times and would play a key role in dictating Australia-s tempo in sapping Muscat conditions.
The Qantas Socceroos were greeted by 32°C temperatures at 5am upon their arrival in the Omani capital, heightening the need for a measured and disciplined performance on Friday.
“It-s going to be tough, it is very hot, it-s one of those heats I can say it-s 40°C degrees but until you get out there and feel it, you don-t know what it-s like,” said Valeri.
“I don-t think you can get used to this heat, it-s going to be hot for them.
“The rhythm is going to be slow, we-ve just got to use our experience and grind out a result.”
One of several survivors from Australia-s 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, Valeri is confident the next generation of Qantas Socceroos is capable of qualifying for what would be Australia-s third consecutive appearance at football-s showpiece event.
“I-m very confident that we can be as good as to qualify,” said Valeri.
“But we can-t look too far ahead - you-re only as good as your last game so we-ve got to stay focused on the job.
“These two games are very important first Oman, we can-t even start thinking about Japan.
“We-ve really just got to get off to a positive start.”
The Qantas Socceroos begin their final phase of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a clash against Oman in Muscat on Friday, 8 June.
Soon after, the Qantas Socceroos will host Japan in their first home fixture of the fourth stage of Asia-s FIFA World Cup qualification process on Tuesday, 12 June at Brisbane-s Suncorp Stadium. Kick off is at 8pm.