Adelaide United skipper Craig Goodwin knows his FIFA World Cup dreams could hinge on whether he can lead the Reds to A-League glory.
The veteran winger’s hopes of being selected in Australia’s squad for the World Cup – which starts next month – seemed shot when he suffered a serious groin injury in February.
However, having made a quicker-than-expected recovery, Goodwin returned to action last month and has appeared off the bench in Adelaide’s past two games, including last Saturday’s 1-1 semi-final first-leg draw against Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium.
The 34-year-old attacking weapon said he was ready to play from the opening whistle, if required, in Friday night’s second-leg at Coopers Stadium, where a grand-final berth will be up for grabs.
“I’m ready to play whatever role is called upon me,” Goodwin said on Thursday,
“I am fit enough and comfortable enough to play 90 minutes at this stage, but also I know that if my role is coming off the bench, I have a part to play, and can have a big impact in this next match.
“I’m not going to out any extra pressure on myself or do anything different. However many minutes I get, whether it’s from the start, whether it’s off the bench, I have my part to play, and my job is to win this game for Adelaide.”
Guiding the Reds to the grand final would also aid Goodwin’s of representing Australia at a second World Cup, having first done so four years ago in Qatar.
“I know if I’m going to have any chance of making the World Cup, then the next two games for me have to be unbelievable,” he said in the confidence that Adelaide would reach next weekend’s decider.
“There’s a particular attitude in this group that perhaps hasn’t been there in the past.
“They (Auckland) will fancy themselves as do we … (but) we haven’t won anything yet. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves We’re fully focused on the job at hand.”
Reds coach Airton Andrioli was yet to decide whether to start Goodwin on Friday night.
“We have a few plans, we have a few scenarios for different players,” Andrioli said.
“All the players understand what’s in front of us and are ready to go.
“We know the opportunity we have, and now we have to execute that on the football pitch.”
Andrioli must also decide whether to again start veteran Brazilian Anselmo de Moraes at centre-forward, or bring in-form striker Luka Jovanovic into the starting team on his return from a one-game suspension.
“We’ve got a good headache at the moment,” the Brazilian mentor said.
“Everyone’s available. We’re in a strong position.”
