Phony war is over as battle with France kicks off

ALL the double sessions, the video analysis, the ice baths and the PlayStation FIFA tournaments are over. It’s time for the real thing.

The Socceroos have spent weeks in a training camp that has led them to this point – their World Cup opener against the might of France in the Russian city of Kazan tonight.

Like students given tutoring in the weeks before an exam, the Socceroos have listened intently to Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk since he gathered them in the Turkish resort of Belek nearly a month ago.

Since he succeeded Ange Postecoglou in late January, van Marwijk has been playing a high- speed game of catch- up, given little time to re- educate a squad so inculcated with Postecoglou’s buccaneering style of play.

In a World Cup stadium, in front of a big crowd, and most of all against footballing superstars, the best- laid plans can stall. So who van Marwijk picks, and how they line up, is driven by the need to be ready for the opening whistle tonight.

“We trained a lot in all of the situations that can happen,” he said. “How we want to build up, how is the transition when you lose the ball, how are we standing when the opponent has the ball, where we press.

“But one of the most important things in my experience, playing against a country like France, is that you must be yourself. It’s easier to say than in practice.

“You have to have the guts to play and be yourself. You can have respect but you must not be impressed. You must be yourself.”

How effective van Marwijk has been will only become clear tonight, when the more durable style he has preached is set against the flair and goalscoring threat of France.

His message has been simple, a re- prise from the mantra he espoused at the 2010 World Cup in leading an unfancied Dutch side to the final – many other teams have the best players, but Australia can make itself a collective that is the equal of many others.

Starting with a blank sheet, van Marwijk has picked on merit and gut instinct. Captain Mile Jedinak appears set to start on the bench, an unthinkable prospect less than seven months ago when his hat- trick in the playoff against Honduras guided Australia to one of the last spots in Russia.

In Jedinak’s place is almost certain to be Massimo Luongo, almost a decade younger than his captain.