His Asia-based big guns are back and the rest have banked handy game time against England.
Now Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou expects a lift in tempo and intensity in the home series against against Greece.
Tim Cahill, Trent Sainsbury, Mathew Leckie, Apostolos Giannou, Ryan McGowan and Nathan Burns all return for the June 4 and 7 friendlies in Sydney and Melbourne after being notable absentees from Australia’s gallant 2-1 away loss to England.
The two-match home series with Greece falls in an international window, allowing for the mid-season release of the sextet from their Asian clubs.
Cahill, Giannou, Burns and Leckie were sorely missed, leaving the Socceroos wanting in the final third despite the dominance of Tom Rogic, Aaron Mooy and Mile Jedinak in a tactically-tweaked midfield.
The team will also benefit from experienced backline inclusions Sainsbury and McGowan, after low stocks forced Postecoglou to shift midfielder Mark Milligan to centre-back for the first time in about five years.
Postecoglou expects the return of senior faces to give his squad a boost against a well-organised and defensively resilient Greece outfit, while those Europe-based and A-League players who’d been light on recent game time should be more ready for action.
“The England game was a real challenging one for us,” Postecoglou said on Monday in Sydney, where the squad are preparing for Saturday night’s opener against Greece at ANZ Stadium.
“Not because of just the players who were missing but (the fact that) Maty Ryan, Josh Risdon, Aaron Mooy, Mass Luongo, Jamie Maclaren, half the team hadn’t played for close to four or five weeks.
“So to play the kind of football we want – high-intensity, high-pressure – it was always going to be a challenge.
“With the Asian guys we’ll get a natural lift and a natural buzz.
“And even the guys who played against England hopefully will feel a little bit better now having a game under their belts.
“So going into these games, my expectations on our ability to play at a high tempo and high intensity for longer will be a lot higher.”
That solid foundation will allow for more vital squad experimentation before September’s looming World Cup qualifiers, with Postecoglou intent on giving everyone a run.
It means young defensive duo Alex Gersbach and Jason Geria are in line to earn their first caps, while latest debutants Jamie Maclaren and Milos Degenek may get more game time.
“Even if we didn’t have the short turnaround, we would have used these games to try and have a look at as much of the squad as we can,” Postecoglou said.
“But with the short turnaround most definitely we’ll make a number of changes for the second game.
“These are the last opportunities for me to have a look at some players.”
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