Former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has backed Bert Van Marwijk to lead Australia out of the group stage in Russia, and believes it will leave major powerbrokers satisfied with the nation’s progress.
“Yeah you can (get out of the group), especially with this group of players,” Postecoglou told SEN’s Whateley.
“I think with Australian players you can in general, because it’s in our nature. We’re up for a battle, we’re up for a fight, and we’ll back ourselves against anyone.
“There’s no reason why he shouldn’t (feel confident). Obviously the first game is the tough one.
“He can certainly get us out of the group, and for many that will be the satisfaction they need that we are progressing.
“It doesn’t fulfil me, but I guess the direction post me shows I was in the minority, in terms of where I saw it headed.”
Van Marwijk’s first games in charge of the Socceroos were a 4-1 loss to Norway, and a scoreless draw against a strong Colombia side, and Postecoglou says at this stage of the campaign the style and standard of play becomes irrelevant, with Football Federation Australia clearly placing a premium on results.
“The main thing to get out of that is all we can do now is look at results. I think anything else in terms of performance, in terms of style of play becomes irrelevant,” he said.
“I think Bert Van Marwijk has got a clear directive there, and the language coming out is that we’ve just got to get out of our group stage - that’s the first thing.
“I think everything is measured against that, which means there’s no point delving too deep into performances, or style, or manner. It’s just about looking at the scoreboard at the end of the game, and that should be your measure of whether it’s been a good game or not.”
The team will have a pre-tournament training camp in Antalya, Turkey, before playing friendlies against Hungary and the Czech Republic, ahead of the opening game against France in Kazan on June 16.