Van Marwijk impressed by Caltex Socceroos ahead of Norway clash

Bert van Marwijk has declared himself impressed after his first training camp with the Caltex Socceroos coach.

The Dutch mentor has spoken for the first time since bringing together his inaugural squad as Australia coach. 

“My first impression is very positive,” van Marwijk told media in Oslo ahead of the game against Norway on Saturday morning (AEST).

“We already heard and knew the Australians had a good mentality, but my experience here is even more positive than I thought.

“I’m also satisfied with the level of football [ability] I saw,” he said.

Despite limited time together, van Marwijk is confident his side can give a good account of themselves in their first game under his watch.

“I want to win every game if possible; we will do everything to achieve that,” he said.

“But we met on Monday, everybody came from all over the world and some players travelled for 24 hours.

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“So this is a period to get to know each other better – that’s the most important thing.

“It's also dangerous to get too much information in the beginning.

“We tried to change some things but not too much.

“I think it's too early to talk about expectations. I expect them to do what I want them to do,” said van Marwijk.

Much like his predecessor Ange Postecoglou did during his time in charge, the new man at the helm will keep his players guessing about which of them will take the field against Norway.

“I haven’t told the players the line-up,” he said.

“They will know for 80 per cent how I want to play, but not for 100 per cent.

“The most part [of the team selection] is how I want to play and which qualities I need.

“There are a few new players in the squad and I’m anxious to know how they will perform.”

 

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This article was originally published on the Socceroos website.
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