Wollongong-born defender Matthew Jurman faces one of the World Cup’s biggest missions.
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Named in the Socceroos 23-man squad for the Russia campaign, the defender must stop the likes of French superstars Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele in the opener on June 16. And that’s just against France.
Tottenham midfield ace Christen Eriksen will be dangerous for Denmark, while Peru will be dangerous at their first World Cup in 36 years.
However, Jurman will have to fight for a starting spot in the World Cup campaign, after being left on the bench as Trent Sainsbury and Mark Milligan formed the central pairing for the Socceroos in the impressive 4-nil win over the Czech Republic on Friday.
Jurman left Sydney FC to join Suwon Bluewings in the Korean League last year, his international debut coming for Australia in October against Syria.
He had minor knee surgery earlier this year, but is determined to make an impact.
“I’m feeling great,” he said.
“Since the last camp, I went back and played quite a few games so coming into this camp I feel a lot better than the last camp so feeling good. It’s been massive.
“It’s [the World Cup] all that’s been on my mind since we qualified, so it was sort of having that surgery since then it’s all been up and I’ve played quite a few games.”
Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
