Popovic Bangga Bertanding di Stadion Bersejarah
Pelatih kepala Australia, Tony Popovic, menyatakan kebanggaannya bisa bertanding di stadion bersejarah tersebut menjelang turnamen akbar.
"This stadium is so special and the fans tomorrow and the opponent will make it feel so, so real and so close to the World Cup," kata Tony Popovic.
Popovic juga menegaskan kesiapan anak asuhnya untuk menunjukkan kualitas terbaik di hadapan publik Pasadena.
"So we're honoured to be here, and we want to show how good we are tomorrow," ujar Tony Popovic.
Mengenai kembalinya Souttar ke lini pertahanan, Popovic mengonfirmasi sang pemain berada dalam kondisi yang sangat baik.
"We've really seen the last probably three or four days Harry at a really, really good level, and I'm sure he will show really good signs tomorrow in the match," tutur Tony Popovic.
Popovic merasa gembira karena pilar pentingnya tersebut telah melewati seluruh tahapan pemulihan dengan sempurna.
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"So I'm delighted that he's gone through those steps, and I feel as though we're getting the Harry back that I remember back 15 months ago, where I only had him for basically one camp," ucap Tony Popovic.
Situasi mengenai pemain muda Cristian Volpato turut mengemuka setelah winger Sassuolo tersebut memilih membela Australia ketimbang Italia.
"Once he made a decision that he wants to represent Australia, well, now there's a decision that we have to make," kata Tony Popovic.
Tim kepelatihan langsung bergerak cepat mengurus seluruh proses administrasi sang pemain agar bisa segera diturunkan.
"Do we go through the process? How quick can that process be?
Is it worth doing now? Putting everything together, we've come to the conclusion that we'll take that process further," ujar Tony Popovic.
Meskipun semua dokumen telah rampung, Popovic memilih untuk memarkir Volpato dari daftar susunan pemain utama pertandingan ini.
"Fortunately, that's all been ticked off. He's actually eligible to play tomorrow, which he may.
He may sit on the bench and come on," tutur Tony Popovic.
Sementara itu, pelatih kepala Meksiko, Javier Aguirre, menolak untuk terlalu mengandalkan faktor status sebagai tuan rumah dalam laga ini.
"There will definitely be a Mexican majority, but it's a good test for both," kata Javier Aguirre.
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Australia menurunkan Mohamed Toure, Jackson Irvine, Harry Souttar, dan Mathew Leckie sejak menit awal untuk mengamankan hasil terbaik, mengingat pertemuan terakhir kedua tim berakhir imbang 2-2 tiga tahun lalu.
