Juric aims to peak for Caltex Socceroos' qualifiers

Australia needs Tomi Juric at his peak fitness, and that's exactly what the striker is aiming for ahead of March's two crucial World Cup qualifiers.

The Caltex Socceroos face Iraq in Tehran on March 23, then UAE in Sydney on March 28 as the business end of qualification kicks in. 

With the Green and Gold on nine points and in third spot in the group, six points is absolutely vital to keep the pressure on the top two of Japan and Saudi Arabia, both on ten points. 

Cameroon to play Caltex Socceroos in Russia

And Juric is desperate to be involved in such important games on the Road to Russia. 

 “I am 100 per cent committed to that [the qualifiers] and I am determined to be ready for that,” the FC Luzern striker told www.theworldgame.sbs.com.au. 

“I’ll be putting in extra sessions with my club and looking to push ahead to make sure I am ready for those qualifiers.”

A knee injury ruled Juric out of November’s World Cup qualifier in Bangkok. The Caltex Socceroos clearly missed their central striker.

With Tim Cahill also missing, the Australians had to rely on two Mile Jedinak penalties to leave the Rajamangala Stadium with a hard-earned point after a 2-2 draw.

The former Wanderers striker - who's scored four times in an injury interrupted Swiss League season - revealed he's not feeling "100%" back to his best after that injury spell. 

It's one main reason why he turned down a potential move to English club Reading during the window. He wants to be back at his 100% best. 

 

finally back at it⚽️ #lovethegame

A photo posted by Tomi Jurić (@tomijuric9) on Jan 6, 2017 at 10:29am PST

“I just didn’t feel now was a good time for me to move anywhere because I don’t feel 100 per cent back to my best.

“I am quite happy here where I am with Luzern - and everything is about timing.

“I just have to keep working hard at least until the [northern] summer and we will see how things go."