Kruse relishing his shot against France

BENCHED for Bert van Marwijk’s first two Socceroos games, Robbie Kruse appears to have shot to the front of the attacking queue ahead of the World Cup opener against France.

No goals but plenty of dangerous slaloming runs from the left wing in last week’s 4- 0 demolition of Czech Republic, which Kruse hopes will bear fruit on the biggest stage in world football.

Still scarred from the knee injury that kept him out of Brazil 2014, Kruse has been unfairly maligned as he’s battled to regain his confidence with further injury woes setting in.

But a shrewd move to the second tier of the familiar Germany has paid off, with a seven goal in 30 game return for Bochum providing the platform for an impressive training camp.

“I felt I did pretty well in training the first few weeks. I felt really good coming off a full season of playing, it was good for me,’’ Kruse said.

“But you never know, you just have to keep working hard and see what happens, you never know what the coaches are thinking so you have to see what happens.

“After China I wanted to give myself the best chance for the World Cup and Bochum was that option for me. I knew I’d play every game and that was the main thing for me.

“That was the first time I’d played regularly since 2013. It’s been a long time and it’s given me a chance to perform at the World Cup.”

Kruse relished playing off the left, where he plays for Bochum and said the Socceroos had made huge progress since the 4- 1 loss at Norway when he was a late sub.

“That first goal ( against Czech) was exactly what we’ve been working on. We did a bit of video ( analysis), it was 19 passes,’’ he said.

“Last camp Bert didn’t have long to work with the team, didn’t know the players quite so well.

“We had a good two weeks before the first game and our performance was quite good. Although it’s a friendly, it’s still confidence- boosting.

“It ( playing off the left) gives you a better chance to score. Personally, there was a couple of times when the ball was just a little bit off.

“Not criticising anyone but the ball was just a little bit too hard or too short.”