Socceroos focus on World Cup qualification: Jedinak

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Mile Jedinak

The AFC qualifiers for Russia 2018 begin in June for the Socceroos, who have two friendly games in preparation.

The first is against Germany on Thursday morning (AEDT) and the second is against FYR Macedonia on Tuesday morning (AEDT).

And while the afterglow of the Asian Cup success on January 31 is still fresh, the skipper is only looking ahead to the next challenge.

“It is something that was a great moment. You don’t completely discard it but there are World Cup qualifiers coming up but it’s not too hard to refocus,” he told FFA TV.

“That’ll be the driving force, building on the success of the Asian Cup and trying to take our performances as a group to the next level.

“We’ll be really hungry to do that, and that’s the motivation now.”

Jedinak is itching to get back out on the park after missing the last few weeks through suspension with his EPL club Crystal Palace.

And his message to his young team is to not be overwhelmed by their opponent.

“They [Germany] have been a bit up and down in their Euro qualification but I think we’ll see different team. They’ll be focussed and determined to prove a point,” added Jedinak.

*Germany will wear black armbands in honour of those who died in a plane crash in the French Alps overnight. There’ll also be a minute’s silence.

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