Australia’s Jason Culina is banking on the squad’s experienced to be a factor in their favour in South Africa (Australia 8/1 to win Group D).
The Socceroos have come in for plenty of criticism in the build-up to the tournament, with the media quick to label them as too old to do well in the World cup.
The criticism certainly didn’t diminish after a lucky 2-1 win over New Zealand in Melbourne on Monday.
But speaking from the Socceroos’ pre-World Cup training camp at altitude in Johannesburg, Culina was keen to use the age of the squad as a positive.
“We’ve all got the four years behind us and three-quarters of the squad have been at a World Cup before so we know what to expect,” Culina said.
“Last World Cup was hard because we didn’t know what to expect.
“We’re not going in there blind this time. It should count for a lot.
“The whole team has really been strengthened in the last few years, we moved up the rankings, and that’s why we’ve got the results we have.
“This squad’s been together for quite a while now and that’s really important to us.”
Culina played well against New Zealand, despite not having played a match since early March when his A-League side Gold Coast exited the finals.
The midfielder has spent the past two months training with his old Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, attempting to keep fit and at the forefront of coach Pim Verbeek’s plans for the World Cup opener against Germany on June 13.
“Unfortunately I haven’t played any games but I’m raring to go. I’m feeling fit and healthy and I can’t ask for more,” Culina said.
Meanwhile, Argentina (4/9 to win Group B) arrived in South Africa for the World Cup looking jet-lagged as they were greeted by media at the Johannesburg airport.
Coach Diego Maradona said: “Hola, South Africa. I love South Africa.” He did not stop to take questions before leaving for his team’s base at the High Performance Centre in the capital Pretoria.
Lionel Messi was also subdued on his first appearance in South Africa. Wearing a white baseball cap, the Barcelona forward did not react to requests from the assembled media for a smile or a wave.
Maradona, who has already named his final 23-man World Cup squad, led the players off the plane on the short walk to the newly built special arrival facility for World Cup teams.
Argentina face Nigeria, South Korea and Greece in the group stages in South Africa. The two-time World Cup winner will play Nigeria at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park on June 12.
Tim Cahill claims he knows Australia (15/2 to win Group D) face a tough challenge to make it into the knockout stages of the World Cup this summer, but he remains confident they can surprise a few people.