Australia vs. Uzbekistan, World Cup Qualifier, 1st April, 8pm kickoff

[serious14]

VERSUS

ANZ Stadium - Olympic Park, Sydney, Australia.  Capacity - 82 500.  Kickoff 8.00pm local time, 2pm Tashkent time, 10am GMT.

Recent Form

Australia - WWDDDL
Uzbekistan - LDWDLW​

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem_new&id=27057

Qantas Socceroos captain Lucas Neill is happy to take a 1-0 win in the 95th minute, if it means that Australia will qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals.

With all the talk about playing entertaining football, Neill was quite emphatic in saying that the result is paramount and that playing entertaining football will be a bonus, if it turns out that way.

I will take a 1-0 in the 95th minute and thats all I am worried about, Neill said. Im not worried about how many goals or how we please the crowd. The best way to entertain you and please you is to tell you that we are in the World Cup and the only way to do that is to get points and it doesnt matter how we get them.

You can criticise the players and the team anyway you want, but ultimately we are undefeated in four games and we are possibly just one win from a World Cup and thats the only target we have. We are not here to be entertainers; that is a bonus.

The West Ham United skipper has been the one constant in the defence since the fourth and final round of the qualifiers started and he is keen to maintain the imposing record of four clean sheets in a row.

We are going to be solid; hard to beat and from a personal point of view I want to keep a zero scoreline for the opposition.

This would be the fifth game in a row where we wont concede a goal and thats all I am worried about. Let the guys that are paid the money to score goals, score the goals and I will worry about keeping a tight ship at the other end.

I said a 1-0 in the 95th minute, is just as good as a 2-0 or 3-0 win with lots of back heels, flicks and tricks.

Neill knows that Uzbekistan, despite having to travel straight after their game on Saturday, will be no pushovers.

Its not going to be easy, they are technically a very good team; they have nothing to lose and they are going to come here like its a World Cup final and give everything they have.

If they win tonight (which they did 4-0) then they are well and truly back in the running to qualify for the World Cup.

Neill is certainly looking forward to the buzz of playing in front of his home crowd again and says it always gives the team a huge lift with the support they get from the Australian public.

It certainly helps Look we always get a fantastic crowd whether it Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne and I am sure this will be no different in Sydney on Wednesday.

I think if you look at the results; weve played well at home, we have scored goals and other teams have come here and felt a little bit intimidated and wed love to get that feeling again.

I am very proud to be Australian, as are all the guys and to play in front of your family and friends and there is no better feeling.

Its a great chemistry we have in this country and in particular for football and long may that continue.

Having spent some time with players from the Granville Waratahs at the launch of the Australian Football Awards yesterday, Neill said that from now the whole focus would now be on beating Uzbekistan.

With nine days preparation it makes it a lot easier than the 24-48 hours that we are used to. Its going well; preparations have been a little bit slow; little bit inconsistent at the moment with various commitments and training in between public appearances.

But they are now all going to stop and we can focus solely on the game, which is obviously why we are here.

We always make sure when we come back here that we spend a little bit of time with the public and raising the profile of the game here, so thats done, but the best way to raise the profile is to win the game that could possibly take us to South Africa.


Fire the f*ck uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppp!!!!! 

 

[Mariner Girl]

Can't wait for this match - win and we are off to World Cup!
See you all at the Brewery before the match.
verhead: verhead: verhead:

 

[FFC Mariner]

I will take a 1-0 in the 95th minute and thats all I am worried about, Neill said. Im not worried about how many goals or how we please the crowd. The best way to entertain you and please you is to tell you that we are in the World Cup and the only way to do that is to get points and it doesnt matter how we get them.

You can criticise the players and the team anyway you want, but ultimately we are undefeated in four games and we are possibly just one win from a World Cup and thats the only target we have. We are not here to be entertainers; that is a bonus.

Well said - football is about outcomes

 

[serious14]

Well said - football is about outcomes

Pim out, Arnold in.

 

[tuftman]

Well said - football is about outcomes

Pim out, Arnold in.

I just have to wash my eyes out after reading that

I can see us getting a 2-0 out of this, job done, 2010 here we come

 

[serious14]

Well said - football is about outcomes

Pim out, Arnold in.

I just have to wash my eyes out after reading that

Arnold out will be getting it's usual run on Wednesday, most likely a few times.  ;D

Some part of me wants to demolish the f*ck out of them, 4 or 5-0, proper like.  I know the reality will be a 1-0, 2-1, or 2-0..... but I can dream, yes??

 

[Bear]

ill be at the club watching this 1 for anyone keen for a beer thats not actually going to the game

 

[kanewillow]

ill be there bear dun bout a beer but

 

[Jorome Alexander Bennett]

Scott McDonald - 2 goals.

 

[midfielder]

I just think Kool is going to have a blinder and of course we will win.

 

[serious14]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,,25269559-5014539,00.html

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has great news Australian fans anticipating an entertaining World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan: Harry Kewell has never looked better.

Australia's finest football export is fully fit, brimming with confidence and in a rich vein of form with his Turkish club Galatasaray ahead of Australia's crucial match in Sydney on Wednesday.

"It's the best Harry Kewell I have seen since I came here, physically and mentally," Verbeek said.

"I think Turkey is very good for him at the moment."

Kewell has become a firm favourite at Galatasaray, where fans have dubbed him the "Wizard of Oz" and "Harry Potter".

He certainly waved his magic wand with a 30-metre goal against French side Bordeaux in a UEFA Cup tie.

He was on the score sheet again from the penalty spot in a UEFA Cup quarter-final, although Galatasaray eventually went out to Hamburg.

Kewell, who has found the net 10 times in 25 matches with Galatasaray, should add the extra punch up front Australia have lacked in recent games.

The 30-year-old with a new lease of life will be wearing the green and gold for the first time since Australia's precious away victory in Uzbekistan last September.

Asked if Australia could expect a full match from Kewell, Verbeek said cagily: "If he starts, yes. I'm sure he can play 90 minutes.

"Harry is really fit, fitter than ever. He is very eager to be part of the team."

If Australia beat Uzbekistan, then Bahrain and Qatar draw in the Middle East five hours later, the Socceroos could qualify for the World Cup while they're all tucked up in bed, the nation sleeps and the lights of Stadium Australia are long turned off.

Neither result would be a surprise.

That combination would be enough to mathematically confirm Australia as the first nation to qualify for South Africa 2010, a far cry from the penalty shoot-out that turned them into the 32nd and final qualifier for Germany 2006.

If the Socceroos do win, they can expect to know the result of the Bahrain-Qatar encounter around 3am Sydney time.

But no matter what happens the Socceroos, undefeated in four matches so far, would have to fall into a deep, dark hole not to qualify eventually.

Coach Pim Verbeek is not even thinking of South Africa yet. His mind is focused purely on taking three points from Uzbekistan, and he doesn't care how he gets them.

Many fans and players, including midfielder Jason Culina, believe it's time for the Socceroos to entertain after some dour but effective performances.

But Verbeek declared: "I promise you, if it takes until the 93rd minute and we win 1-0, I'll be happy."

The Dutchman has a full squad of 21 to choose from, with doubts only over whether Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Michael Beauchamp and Carl Valeri can go the full 90 minutes.


;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[jiggles]

YEW.

24 HOURS!

Fire up!

AND RAIN! YAY!

 

[serious14]

The FIFA 09 simulation is in.....

Australia 2 - Kennedy 42, Cahill 84
Ukraine 0

It's a former Soviet country starting with U, shutup. 

 

[serious14]

GAME DAY!!!!!

verhead: verhead: verhead: verhead: verhead:

 

[Sacko]

Bring it on!

 

[serious14]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/verbeek-wants-90-minutes-or-nothing/2009/03/31/1238261579549.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

SEVERAL big-name Socceroos could find themselves on the outer for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan at ANZ Stadium after Pim Verbeek revealed yesterday he would pick only players who could declare themselves 100 per cent fit for the match.

That means players such as Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Scott Chipperfield, Carl Valeri and Michael Beauchamp have found themselves in a race against time to prove their fitness to the Dutchman, who insists he will select only those "ready to play 90 minutes". With the players desperate to be part of a match that could ultimately seal a place in South Africa next year, even those squad members carrying injuries pushed themselves through a heavy training session on Monday morning before tapering off in the final 48 hours before the match.

Ever the results-driven manager, Verbeek will leave it until the last minute before choosing his first XI but he is hoping that most - if not all - players under scrutiny can get onto the park.

"My feeling is the boys are ready," Verbeek said yesterday. "I had every player on the field yesterday morning for the first time, so I know what I am going to do tomorrow. It all depends on the physical fitness of some of the players who have not been training every day for the last week.

"I will wait until the afternoon training session before making up my mind 100 per cent, and then we are ready to do what we have to do to win the game tomorrow.

"Of course, they have all the training, but it's all about if they are ready to play 90 minutes. That's another question."

In the case of Cahill and Bresciano, two of the poster boys of the national team, Verbeek is giving little away other than to say both still need to convince him they can play.

"He [Bresciano] is one of the players I have to think about after the training session. He trained for half of the Saturday afternoon and yesterday morning for 100 per cent," Verbeek said. "From what I've heard he had no complaints, so let's wait for tonight to see how he gets through.

"Valeri and Beauchamp are also the same. I have 21 players in the camp and enough players to win the game tomorrow. Of course, we would like to have Timmy on the field, he's one of our key players, but from the start we knew he could be 100 per cent or maybe not."

While the Socceroos have been in training for a whole week, very little has been seen of Bresciano and he appears to have the biggest challenge to convince the coaching staff. After the strong Monday morning work out, he, Valeri and Chipperfield sat out the session later that night as Cahill, Beauchamp and Chris Coyne only undertook light jogging.

Should such names miss the match it would make it harder for the Socceroos to shake their newly acquired tag as defenders rather than entertainers, although Verbeek brushed aside the criticism by joking he'd play "six strikers, not worry about defence at all, hopefully it will be 6-6 and everyone will be happy. Except me".

He added: "I'm here to win the game. I'd like to win with many goals but let's go for the win and that's all that counts. We are good enough to beat Uzbekistan but we will have to work very hard and play our best.

"I'm not spending the whole day thinking if we win, we have qualified. I think we have done very well - four games, 10 points, six goals - and the last home game we scored four goals, so we can be confident. But we should not be arrogant and think it is an easy game. I'm sure my players are not thinking that."

Regardless of the final make-up of the team, one man Verbeek is certain to select is Harry Kewell, who has impressed his coach at training.

"I'm sure if he starts, Harry can play 90 minutes. He is fitter than ever," Verbeek said. "He looks really fit and eager to be part of the team. It's the best Harry Kewell I've seen since I've been here, physically and mentally. I think what Turkey is doing is very good for him at the moment.

"[Scott McDonald-Josh Kennedy] is a good combination, definitely a good combination, and you will see tomorrow what I'm going to do. It depends on the physical fitness of the players."

 

[jarrad]

The FIFA 09 simulation is in.....

Australia 2 - Kennedy 42, Cahill 84
Ukraine 0

It's a former Soviet country starting with U, shutup. 

Hahaha, welldone Serious.


In around 24 hours, Australia will be singing.
We're going to South Africa,
yeah, we're going to South Africa,
We're going to South Africa
in 2010
(And we're the first team to qualify)

 

[serious14]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2i5ShKaASc

;D

 

[Sean]

Game has been cancelled. Apparently the pitch is flooded and it will be announced in the next hour. Watch this space.

 

[bjw]

Game has been cancelled. Apparently the pitch is flooded and it will be announced in the next hour. Watch this space.

sauce?