Australia NewsArise, Skipper Harry! |
PIM Verbeek has confirmed Harry Kewell will lead the Socceroos into battle in Friday's friendly with Ghana at Sydney Football Stadium.
To see Harry larking around at training today...
To see the rest of the Roos in training today...
Kewell, who has seen little action in recent months, appeared full of running in what was a high octane training session at Parramatta Stadium on Wednesday.
"Harry will be the captain, no doubt about it, for this game," Verbeek revealed.
"(There is) no guarantee for the next few games of course but he has made the same impression like he did in Singapore.
"He's there, he's ready, he's doing very well for the group."
Verbeek admitted being pleasantly surprised by Kewell's fitness levels considering his recent lack of game time for Liverpool and insisted the 29-year-old would make more than a cameo appearance against the African powerhouse.
"We gave him a GPS (unit) yesterday, do you know what it is?" Verbeek asked the assembled media.
"I have one in my car," he joked.
"He had to do it on the field and he made an unbelievable amount of (ground), he did a lot of running, a lot of sprinting, his recovery was perfect.
"So I think he can play 90 minutes, it's up to him but I think it should be very good for him to play 90 minutes."
Verbeek would not be pinned down on his final starting XI for Friday's match but if Wednesday's scrimmage is anything to go by, Kewell is likely to be joined up front by Joel Griffiths and Mile Sterjovski.
Perth Glory Nikolai Topor-Stanley is the likely left-back and will be joined by Jade North, Michael Beauchamp, and Jacob Burns in defence, while James Troisi and Jason Culina will feature in the Socceroos midfield.
Culina, who has not played a competitive match for four weeks, has publicly expressed the view he would not be ready for Friday's friendly, but having seen him train this week, Verbeek is more optimistic.
"I think maybe he'll change his mind," Verbeek said.
"He's a player who doesn't need (lead-up) games because he's coming into the team and immediately knows what he has to do.
"Maybe the team needs him and maybe he's really ready, mentally also ready to play the game."
First-choice custodian Mark Schwarzer is a definite starter despite the fact he will not join his team-mates until Thursday.
To see Harry larking around at training today...
To see the rest of the Roos in training today...
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