Australia are set to face France on Saturday night (8pm AEST) and could line-up against Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe or Antoine Griezmann in Kazan.

Behich played 31 games for Bursapor and has featured in the last four warm-up games for Australia.

He said the experience of playing against world-class opposition in the Super Lig has made him more comfortable for the game against France.

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“It’s been a few good seasons in a tough league in Turkey,” Behich said on Tuesday.

“I’m at that age where I’m experienced enough to step up for the national team and it’s always been a goal of mine to represent my country. At the same time to have the opportunity to be at a World Cup.

“It’s something special. I’m really excited, I’m coming off a good season in Turkey and I’m in career-best form at the moment. If I’m called upon, I’m ready to go.”



The 27 year-old showed no signs of nerves on Tuesday and showed faith in Bert van Marwijk’s collective team mentality.

And Behich had no doubts they would take it to the French in their opening game of Group C.

 “We’re going to go out there and put in a good performance, I’m pretty confident in that,” he said.

“I can see it on the pitch every day that we’re building as a team and I can see our players are improving, so I just want to get out there and I’m raring to go.

“It’s 11 v 11, so I’m not afraid of anybody. We’ve got great players as well, the most important thing is we all know each other’s strengths after the last few weeks in camp.”

Socceroo midfielder Massimo Luongo said on Monday that they needed to take their chances when they came, but was also confident they would create opportunities.

Behich said they had the speed and quality to hurt France in front of goal.

“They’ve got a whole lot of quality with their individuals on the pitch, but at the end of the day, it’s a team sport, we’ve got a good team and we’re going to try and become a great team,” Behich added.

“That’s one thing Bert has brought into us – a team always ends up winning the game, so it’s the mentality we’re trying to bring about and we’re improving every day on the pitch.

“Once we go out there, it’s a team against a team and of course individuals can change the game, but if we’re a good team, we have a high chance of getting a result.”