The scramble for a spot in the Socceroos' midfield is getting tighter for Canberra's Tom Rogic, after Graham Arnold hinted Aaron Mooy may play a bigger role in their historic match against Japan.
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Arnold admitted he had a good headache when it came to putting together his midfield before each match, having to choose between Mooy, Tom Rogic, Jackson Irvine and Ajdin Hrustic.
Mooy has been the one forced to take a back seat, coming off the bench in Australia's last three matches, but Arnold said he was in top shape.
"He's ready to go," he said.
"If there's one thing about him, the adrenaline will kick in and it won't matter that he hasn't played many match minutes for a while. His experience is enormous and ... when he's come on in the three games, he's just taken control of the game."
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The side is looking to continue its historic run by making it 12 straight World Cup qualifying wins against Japan, but Arnold did not want to speculate on his starting XI.
However, Rogic, who played his 50th game in green and gold on Friday against Oman, had one of the lowest passing completion rates in the entire team, making 65 per cent of his 20 passes, compared to Mooy's 80 per cent, Hrustic's 92.4 per cent and Irvine's 81.1 per cent.
Similarly Mooy had 23 touches in 27 minutes, Rogic had 28 touches in 63 minutes, Hrustic had 97 touches in 90 minutes and Irvine had 64 touches in 90 minutes.
Hrustic has also been carving out his place as a mainstay in the side's midfield, making it harder again for 28-year-old Rogic to keep his starting spot.
"[Hrustic] has come a long way in a very short time," Arnold said.
"His body's getting stronger and stronger, the other night in the game against Oman, I think, with the GPS steps, he ran about three kilometres more than anyone else in the game. So his fitness is fantastic and technically, he's one of our better players."
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