The national side held their first training session in Kazan, Russia in front of 3,212 local fans on Monday, ahead of the team’s opening game against France on 16 June.

And after the session at the Stadium Trudovye Rezervy, Maclaren admitted the World Cup dream finally feels real.

“Walking out today there was 3,000 fans and me and Dimi [Petratos] had a joke when we were jogging around the field, it’s now that it feels like a World Cup,” Maclaren told FFA TV.

“We had a fantastic reception and the boys are happy, that’s important when the camp is all happy and confident.

“Obviously the win against Hungary was a good win but now it’s business time.”

Maclaren didn’t feature in the 2-1 victory over Hungary on Saturday but said the session helped him and other members of the squad get up to speed.

“It was half recovery, half to get the tempo up. The boys who didn’t play got a bit out of it.

“It’s about working on things that Bert [Van Marwijk] likes to, the short passes, but just to get the legs moving.

“The facilities I have to say are fantastic here, it’s top notch and there’s no complaints from us.”

There is no doubt that France will provide a much tougher test compared to Hungary and Czechia, however Maclaren can’t wait to start against one of the tournament favourites.

“Against France, you wouldn’t want to start any other way.

“We believe in ourselves and when you’ve got a coaching staff that gives you confidence you just want to go out there and perform.

“The last two games we found a way to win, you’ve got to find that way to win at international level and we’ve done that and now we want to carry that confidence.”