Spiranovic to miss Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers

The Socceroos have ramped up preparations for their crucial World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan at Canberra Stadium on Thursday night with the rest of the squad arriving on Tuesday.

Spiranovic, capped 30 times, would likely have started in the heart of the Socceroos’ defence.

Australia coach Ange Postecoglou should expect maximum points from the remaining fixtures and will have been buoyed by the return of captain Mile Jedinak and goalkeeper Mat Ryan after the pair missed the last few qualifiers through injury.

Gallop used his speech at a Parliament House function on Monday to remind locals that the Socceroos were basing themselves in the capital.

“To be honest, my wife is a bit more anxious than anybody else”, McKay said on Monday in Canberra, where the Socceroos were assembling in camp for Thursday’s match with Kyrgyzstan.

Cahill’s team-high 11 goals were instrumental in helping the side into the Chinese FA Cup final, where they will fight for a first trophy in 17 years as well as a ticket to the Asian Champions League.

The eight group winners and four best-placed runners-up will reach the next stage of qualifying.

But there is no cause for alarm from Cahill’s point of view, the Socceroos great saying that if anything the “little mishap” against Jordan galvanised the squad to bounce back.

The two matches have taken on great significance for the national team following their shock 2-0 loss away to Jordan in October.

“We’re looking forward, and I hope we can put it right as soon as possible”.

“We’ve lost one game in the handful of games that we’ve played – it’s not panic stations”, he said.

“There’s always pressure on us to do well and we place that pressure on ourselves because we want to be better as a side and we want to be better as individuals”, McKay was quoted to have said.

“We had a wake-up call against Jordan, which is probably something we needed”, Cahill told reporters at Parliament House.

“I’m always confident in this group of lads and the staff purely because of what we have achieved in the past and what is expected of us in the future”.

“Even if it is [unstable], we’ve got heaps of security that are great, that travel with us all the time, that are here now and who travel with us to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan before, so we feel very safe”.

Cahill acknowledged their foes turned out to be tougher opposition than expected, but indicated they were more prepared this time.

Another slip-up would make it extremely hard to top the group, giving further importance to what they will encounter against Kyrgyzstan.

McKay admitted the players did not know much about Thursday’s opponents ahead of their 2-1 win earlier in the qualifying campaign but said there would be no complacency this time around.

McKay says the group are united in their resolve to play anywhere authorities tell them is safe.