Bert van Marwijk’s squad features just six of the 23-man selection Ange Postecoglou took to Brazil four years ago, however the Dutchman’s line-up has a significantly greater number of international appearances between them.
Australia’s Russia-bound contingent have played in excess of 250 games more than their counterparts from 2014 and that should give the Socceroos a boost, claims the Switzerland-based forward.
“Having more caps under our belts, I think that will do us a lot of good going into the tournament and definitely a lot more experience than the last campaign,” he said.
“For me personally, I’ve got a lot more games under my belt, over 30 games for Australia, and hopefully I can get a lot more in the future. But this is definitely a moment where, if I’m not ready now I won’t be for a while.”
Juric was not selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup but was a key member of the squad that won the AFC Asian Cup just six months later, with the 26-year-old setting up James Troisi to score the winning goal against Korea Republic in the final in Sydney.
In 34 appearances to date for the Socceroos, Juric has scored eight times and he is keen to add to his tally in Russia, when Australia take on France, Peru and Denmark in a challenging Group C.
“It would probably be one of the best out of all of them, scoring at that stage and at a tournament of that magnitude,” he said.
“I think the most important thing is that we do well as a team and we perform. The goal for us is to get out of the group stage and play some good football. Personally, to grab a goal would be fantastic and something I’d remember for a very long time.”
Australia finalise their preparations on Saturday with a warm-up match against Hungary in Budapest.
A two-week training camp in Turkey was the first prolonged period the squad had spent together since van Marwijk was appointed in late January and Juric stressed the time spent together will stand the team in good stead in Russia.
“We all know that we’ve got Bert and he’s new to this organisation and it’s really crucial for him to get to know us as players well and as people,” he said.
“These two weeks have been really, really important and having the facilities in place to give us a slight advantage and organise ourselves in the best way possible before this tournament is really something that will go a long way in these next few weeks.”
