No Socceroos culture shock in Sochi

Jun 15, 2017 - 8:08 AM The Socceroos will find no more welcoming city in all of Russia to begin their Confederations Cup campaign.

Welcome to Sochi, where the Australian side land on Thursday ahead of their tournament opener with Germany next Monday (Tuesday morning AEST).

On first glance, the resort city has more in common with the Gold Coast than any stereotyped Soviet-era settlement.

A multi-billion dollar sporting precinct built for the 2014 Winter Olympics has been re-purposed for this tournament and next year's World Cup.

There's been no mothballing of the area, which also hosts a Formula One race, has a theme park and is a popular tourist area.

The Black Sea coastal city is the most Western of the Confederations Cup host venues and has been decked out in full FIFA regalia for the tournament.

Soccer-themed lights adorn roads and giant billboards of Russia's mascot - a wolf named Zabivaka - have been put up.

The city itself - 30km north of the Adler tournament precinct - is bustling with visiting families enjoying summer holidays.

It all means Ange Postecoglou and his side won't be suffering major culture shock as they prepare for their first-up clash with the world champions.

Despite the intimidating imagery that comes with Russia, it's likely to be the most-accommodating away trip the Socceroos have had in the past year.

There's none of the heat or hostility that has come with recent trips to Iran, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and UAE for World Cup qualifiers.

The Socceroos left Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon and are scheduled to touch down on Thursday night AEST after opting for an expensive chartered route instead of stopovers in Dubai and Moscow.

The Dubai-Moscow leg would have flown the team almost directly over Sochi, only to return hours later on a shorter flight.

With four days until they play the World Cup winners, that's unlikely to make a difference.

Socceroo James Troisi said the travelling fitness team were well drilled.

"We've got quite a bit of travel ... but we're in good hands here. We get looked after," he said.

"The boys are in a good way, a good frame of mind."

Bristol City-based defender Bailey Wright, speaking before touching down in Sochi, registered slight trepidation ahead of the visit but this was overridden by excitement.

"It's a new country for me and a new country for a lot of the boys," he said.

"That's one of the perks of it with football. You get to travel and experience new places, new grounds, new atmospheres.

"Wherever you go, any country throws its different challenges at you ... we look forward to it.

"We'll have a few, a good few Australian fans out there supporting us."

Source: AAP