Tomi Juric admits that while he harbours hopes of a return to the Socceroos set-up, his sole focus is continuing to perform for Adelaide United.
The striker has been in impressive goal-scoring form having found the back of the net in each of his previous three matches for the Reds.
Juric has also bagged six goals across his last five games – taking his season tally to a team-high seven goals – after slotting a free-kick to rescue a point in a 2-all draw against Sydney FC last Sunday.
“I think I’ve shown in the past few games that I’m in a good spot and have hit some form now,” Juric said at his press conference today.
“I’m in a good purple patch so hopefully I can keep this up and I’m positive I will.”
The Socceroos are set to play four FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in Kuwait in June.
If named in the squad, Juric will miss the end of the A-League season and likely Finals Series given United currently sits equal second on the ladder.
When asked about whether he wanted to represent Australia again Juric revealed it is not something he has dwelled on too much.
The 29-year-old has scored eight goals in 41 caps for his country and made his last appearance for the national team in November 2018.
“To be honest I haven’t really had the time to think about it,” Juric explained.
“Obviously working back from the injuries that I’ve had I’m just happy to be back on the park now and really doing my job and helping out the lads as much as I can.
“… What happens in the near future or down the track it’s out of my hands, but I think the main thing for me to focus on now is me and Adelaide.”
Mohamed Toure and Noah Smith are all pushing to be available within the next week.
Juric welcomed the competition and the selection headaches it will give Head Coach Carl Veart.
“It’s positive news for us that we have numbers coming back,” he said, as the Reds prepare to face Wellington Phoenix in Wollongong on Sunday.
“And we’ve got a lot of games coming up in short turnarounds that we’re going to be having, so everyone’s going to play a part and going to be really important for us.”
Match details:
Sunday 25 April vs Wellington Phoenix
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 18
Kick-off 3.40pm ACST
Venue: WIN Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
