US-based Socceroos duo Kai Trewin and Aiden O’Neill are chomping at the bit ahead of a “very heated” chance to claim bragging rights over the majority of their club teammates, including US goalkeeper Matt Freese.
Australia take on World Cup co-hosts the United States of America at 5am on Saturday morning AEST with the New York City FC pair expecting fireworks after a “feisty” friendly meeting between the two nations last year.
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“I have never wanted to win a game more than this one, I can tell you that for free,” Trewin told reporters at Australia’s Oakland training base this morning.
The defender was an unused substitute in the Socceroos’ tournament opening 2-0 victory against Turkiye on Sunday, but is ready to go if called upon by manager Tony Popovic.
If Trewin does get on the pitch, he and O’Neill are likely to be at the centre of any argy-bargy.
The pair clashed with former Crystal Palace star Wilfred Zaha after an MLS game earlier this year.
At CitiField, the home of baseball’s the New York Mets, Zaha expressed his displeasure with the Australian duo as they headed towards the tunnel.
Trewin eventually ended the exchange by pushing Zaha away.
It is safe to say he does mind confrontation and Australia’s meeting with the United States in Denver, Colorado last October got Trewin’s blood boiling.
“I expect it to be very heated,” Trewin said.
“Both teams need to win to progress from the group.
“I didn’t play in that game last year, but I did watch it on TV and it was good to watch as an Aussie.
“It was quite feisty, a lot of big tackles. Obviously, you’ve got to be careful. No one wants to do anything silly, but I’m sure there’ll be lots of big moments and strong tackles from both sides.
“I don’t think anyone will be leaving anything out there.”
O’Neill, who started in midfield alongside rising star Paul Okon-Engstler against Turkiye, did feature in that friendly, which the Americans won 2-1.
Jordan Bos’ early strike gave the Socceroos the lead, but Haji Wright scored either side of half time to give the hosts victory.
There were five changes from the starting XI that night compared to against Turkiye with the Australians leaving a few scares despite being on the wrong side on the scoreboard.
USA defender Chris Richards made it clear that he did not take kindly to the Australians’ physicality by talking tough post game.
“They’re lucky it was a friendly. I was ready to go. And if (the ref) didn’t give me a s*** yellow in the corner, I probably would’ve killed somebody,” Richards told reporters post-game.
O’Neill believes those words showed how the Australians caught them off guard.
“I think maybe they didn’t expect us to be as aggressive and on the front foot as we were,” he recalled to reporters at Australia’s Oakland training base this morning.
“And that might have just surprised them a little bit and they didn’t quite like it.”
One aspect that will be massively different this time around is the conditions the game will be played in.
Denver sits 1,609 metres above sea level – hence the nickname ‘the Mile High City’.
Whereas Seattle is only 45m above sea level, making the conditions far friendlier for the Australians.
They also entered this World Cup off the back of the longest pre-tournament camp of any team, leading to claims of being the fittest team.
“We were there for only a couple of days so with the altitude that was hard,” O’Neill said.
“And our preparation for this tournament has been unbelievable and I think you’ve seen that already.”
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‘CAPTAIN AMERICA’ IN DOUBT
Despite the USA’s impressive display against Paraguay to begin their campaign with a 4-1 victory, the co-hosts were nervous afterwards as star winger Cristian Pulisic was subbed off at half time.
USA coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted post-game that it was precautionary as Pulisic received a kick in the calf and his team led 3-0 at the point.
But doubt has grown in the days leading up to the USA’s clash with the Socceroos with Pulisic’s teammates revealing that the AC Milan attacker has been limited in what he can do on the training pitch.
“He has not been training fully with the group yet, but we’ve got a couple of days to see where he’s at,” defender Antonee Robinson said.
“Thankfully we’ve got a lot of boys on the bench who are eager and ready to get involved in helping the team and a lot of quality.
“It’s a long tournament. If we don’t have him back for the game, we’re going to make sure we have him back for the rest of the way because we’re going to need him.”
Attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson is a potential replacement for Pulisic, but insisted that he was in the dark about whether he may get a start.
“We’re really hoping Christian is going to be back for the game of course,” Aaronson said.
“I don’t really know what is going on in particular, but we know that he is going to give us his all to get back into the team and be there for the game.”
Pulisic played a key hand in all three of the USA’s first half goals against Paraguay in Los Angeles.
In Seattle, fans have been eagerly awaiting a potential battle with Socceroo Jacob Italiano after his impressive display against Turkiye.
The Australians are also hoping Pulisic is passed fit so that contest can take place.
“I hope he plays to be honest, you want to play against their best XI,” Trewin said.
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TRANSFER RUMOURS
Off the back of the win against Turkiye, the noise surrounding big moves for several Australians is only growing louder.
Centre back Alessandro Circati has been linked with a move away from Serie A side Parma to join Spanish giants Atletico Madrid and Premier League outfit Newcastle United as well as attracting interest from other Italian clubs Bologna, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan.
Meanwhile, talk of Lucas Herrington to Barcelona continues to bubble away, while goalscorer Nestory Irankunda has turned the heads of Spanish side Villarreal and freshly relegated West Ham.
Many in Australia would not have known who 22-year-old Circati was if he walked down the street a week ago.
But the defender, who has already captained the Socceroos, says despite the added fame back home, the transfer speculation is nothing new for him.
He joined Parma’s youth set up from Perth Glory in 2021 and was being touted as a star of the future before suffering an ACL injury in training almost two years ago.
“Personally, I’ve been through it already,” Circati said yesterday. “Before my ACL injury … there was something like now. I lived through very similar moments, very similar news.
“It does give you motivation, it gives you a better feeling within yourself, that what you’re doing is somewhat correct.
“But we’ve got to really leave that out and really focus on what’s at hand, and then all that, we’ll worry about that after the World Cup. I’ll pass that message on to the two younger boys; maybe they haven’t witnessed something like that, haven’t lived it.
“But the most important thing is to focus on today and tomorrow; after the World Cup, then you can sit down with whoever you sit down with, and decide.”
As well as Circati, Herrington and Irankunda, Mohamed Toure – after a blistering start to life in England with Norwich – and Paul Okon-Engslter – after an impressive World Cup – are highly fancied for big European moves in the near future.
Tete Yengi, who scored on debut for the Socceroos in their final pre-World Cup friendly against Switzerland, has been linked with Saudi Arabian clubs after a strong Asian Champions League campaign that led to a maiden international call-up.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Jordan Bos is on the radar of several Premier League clubs off the back of exploits of Dutch club Feyenoord and the Socceroos.
With several big moves likely to come and strong results on the world stage, Circati hopes it can help people take Australian football more seriously.
“Yeah, for sure, I hope we’re starting to gain a little bit more respect,” he said. “I don’t want to be the underdog for the rest of my life. I want to be a team that everyone faces [and says] ‘Ah, we’ve got to play Australia!’
“That will come with time, and I’m sure, many boys will go to great clubs, and then once that, once it happens, it will become reality.”