AUSTRALIA ON VERGE OF WC QUALIFICATION

By Julius Ross

Three and a half years ago, John Aloisi’s momentous penalty-kick against Uruguay presented Australia with one of the final golden tickets available to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The spot-kick illustrated the fine line between success – which had evaded the Socceroos for 32 painful years – and failure – which had haunted them for three decades.

In a seemingly ironic turn of fortunes for Australian football, 2009 could see Pim Verbeek’s team, now negotiating the Asian qualification path, become the first team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, in rather comfortable fashion.

If Verbeek’s men grab the all important three points in their next qualifying match against Uzbekistan – and other results go their way – Wednesday April 1 2009 will be etched into the FFA’s record books as another historic moment in Australian football.

The unbeaten Socceroos take on the Uzbeks this Wednesday, with the sides separated by six points on the Group One table of AFC WC qualifying.

The ‘Roos were sitting pretty at the top with three wins and a draw for a total of 10 points before Japan dispossessed them of top spot with a 1-0 win over Bahrain on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has moved from the basement to third place after crushing Qatar 4-0 in Saturday’s other qualifier.
Verbeek has called in the overseas-based cavalry for Wednesday’s significant clash, with household favourites Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Jason Culina, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer and Scott Chipperfield among the notable inclusions.

In the Socceroos’ most recent match, a 2012 Asian Cup Qualifier against Kuwait, Verbeek named an exclusively domestic squad to take on the visitors in Canberra, only for the side to go down 1-0 in a hugely disappointing showing.

The domestic plan once again backfired and reiterated the need for players with European experience to be present in the squad.

This time around, Verbeek has opted for a entirely European-based squad, with the exception of Jade North who is currently playing his club football in South Korea for Incheon United.

Verbeek will not only have the luxury of a full-strength squad heading into the clash with the Uzbekis, but his side will be fully refreshed after a week-long training camp in Australia.

In start contrast, Uzbekistan will have to endure a long-haul flight to Australia after their home clash with Qatar on Saturday, giving them less than three days preparation.

It will leave the visiting side vulnerable, and the Socceroos will be ready and eager to exploit any obvious weaknesses.

But the Socceroos will have to lift their game after poor performances in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying and will have to be wary of the Uzbeks who will be on a high after demolishing Qatar.

Recent Socceroos performances have been less than desirable, with the loss to Kuwait coming on the back of a lucky escape in Japan last month where heroics of Mark Schwarzer salvaged a point, adding to a very fortunate 1-0 win over Bahrain last November.

In light of these performances, critics have labeled the Socceroos as boring, unimaginative, unimpressive and result-oriented.
But while the ‘Roos may have failed to impress the crowds, no one can argue with their unbeaten record.

Verbeek has blasted the Australian media and critics of his style, stating that the main aim is to qualify for the World Cup, not to play ‘pretty’.

The Dutch maestro is so focused on booking his ticket on the plane to South Africa that he has dismissed talk of qualification if Australia win against Uzbekistan this Wednesday.

Although it is a mathematical possibility that the Socceroos will qualify for their second consecutive finals if they pick up all three points, Verbeek is leaving nothing to chance and believes it essential to pick up maximum points in the next two qualifiers before getting carried away.

In previous years, qualification has left fans on the edge of their seats, in nail-biting circumstances.

This time around there may not be as much excitement, but there would be few Australians who mind that the Socceroos have sacrificed class for a ticket to South Africa 2010.

SOCCEROOS SQUAD:
Michael BEAUCHAMP (Aalborg BK, DENMARK)
Mark BRESCIANO (U.S. Citta di Palermo, ITALY)
Jacob BURNS (FC Unirea Valahorum, ROMANIA)
Tim CAHILL (Everton, ENGLAND)
David CARNEY (Norwich City FC (on-loan), ENGLAND)
Scott CHIPPERFIELD (FC Basel, SWITZERLAND)
Chris COYNE (Colchester United FC, ENGLAND)
Jason CULINA (PSV Eindhoven, HOLLAND) 
Adam FEDERICI (Reading FC, ENGLAND)
Richard GARCIA (Hull City FC, ENGLAND)
Brett HOLMAN (AZ Alkmaar, HOLLAND)
Mile JEDINAK (Genclerbirligi SK, TURKEY)
Josh KENNEDY (Karlsruher SC, GERMANY)
Harry KEWELL (Galatasaray SK, TURKEY)
Scott MCDONALD (Celtic FC, SCOTLAND)
Lucas NEILL (West Ham United FC, ENGLAND)
Jade NORTH (Incheon United FC, KOREA REPUBLIC)
Michael PETKOVIC (Sivasspor, TURKEY)
Mark SCHWARZER (Fulham FC, ENGLAND)
Mile STERJOVSKI (Derby County FC, ENGLAND)
Carl VALERI (U.S. Grosseto FC, ITALY)
Luke WILKSHIRE (FK Dinamo Moscow, RUSSIA), Bruce Djite (Gençlerbirligi, TURKEY).