Captain Lucas Neill says the Socceroos upcoming high-profile friendlies against France and Brazil will give them some idea of the level they have to reach to be competitive at next year’s World Cup.
Australia are scheduled to play the World Cup host in Brasilia next month and face France in Paris in October.
Neill, who on Tuesday was announced as the Captain Ambassador for the Asian Cup finals in Australia in January 2015, will be available for both games.
He should be match fit, after signing for Japanese club Omiya Ardija, making his J-League debut for them last weekend.
“On a personal level, I’m training at a very intense level, sometimes twice a day, one and a half hours of intensity most days, which is great for me,” Neill said.
“On a national team level, you couldn’t ask for any more (than) to be able to go to Brazil to play against arguably the in-form national team in the world at the moment.
“Then to follow that up with France in Paris, is another massive coup for the FFA, to pull off a game like that.
“You can’t ask for any more and certainly we’re going to get asked a lot of questions in these games and it’s up to us to respond and work things out in those games.
“I suppose in a way to find where we are as a national team and what level we are and what level we need to get to if we are going to be competitive in the World Cup.”
Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said another international in Europe in the October window would be finalised soon.
Defender Neill, who played for A-League club Sydney FC earlier in the year, has formed a positive impression of the J-League.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for me hopefully to get regular first team football and to play in a very tough competitive league,” Neill said.
“There’s been a bit of banter already, which is always nice, it makes you feel welcome and feel a part of the family.
“The football has been great,, the training has been very intense.
“The intensity and the pace is similar to the (English) Premier League.”
Neill said it was his dream to lead Australia in the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil, following the loss to Japan in the 2011 final.
“It’s probably one of the last footballing targets I have as a player and certainly while there’s a tournament with such great esteem to look forward to, I’m certainly going to keep going,” 35-year-old Neill said.
Asian Cup organisers expect the 16-team tournament to break even financially.
No decision had been made yet on whether the A-League would be suspended during the Asian Cup, but Gallop wanted the focus to be on the latter.
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