No surprises
The squad picked by Pim Verbeek for our friendly against Holland in Eindhoven and our crucial opening qualifier against Uzbekistan is a case of no surprises – in more ways than one.
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Verbeek names Socceroos squad for qualifier
Socceroos Coach Pim Verbeek has selected an extended 27-man squad for the upcoming international friendly game against the Netherlands and the World Cup Qualifier match against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Wednesday, September 10.
Michael Beauchamp, Jacob Burns, Ante Covic, Brett Emerton, Brad Jones, Harry Kewell, Jade North and Shane Stefanutto come into the squad, with North and Covic being the only A-League players included.
Australia squad: Michael Beauchamp (Aalborg BK, Denmark), Mark Bresciano (U.S. Citta di Palermo, Italy), Jacob Burns (FC Unirea Valahorum, Romania), David Carney (Sheffield United FC, England), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, Switzerland), Chris Coyne (Colchester United FC, England), Ante Covic (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi SK, Turkey), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England), Richard Garcia (Hull City FC, England), Vincenzo Grella (Blackburn Rovers, England), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough FC, England), Josh Kennedy (Karlsruher SC, Germany), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray SK, Turkey), Scott McDonald (Celtic FC, Scotland), Mark Milligan (uncontracted), Lucas Neill (West Ham United FC, England), Jade North (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor, Turkey), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham FC, England), Matthew Spiranovic (FC Nurnberg, Germany), Shane Stefanutto (FC Lyn Oslo, Norway), Mile Sterjovski (Derby County FC, England), Carl Valeri (U.S. Grosseto FC, Italy) and Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow, Russia).
The cringe still lives
Plenty of copy has been produced since the Olyroos’ limp exit from the Beijing Olympics, most of the pundits having completely forgotten that merely qualifying for the event was a significant achievement in itself, given the arduous qualifying campaign the Olyroos endured.
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Brisbane to host first Socceroos qualifier
Australias first home match in round 4 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup AFC Qualifiers will be held at the Brisbane Stadium, Milton (Suncorp Stadium) on Wednesday, October 15 with kick-off set for 7.30pm AEST.
Australia’s other round 4 group opponents are Japan, Uzbekistan and Bahrain, and a top two finish in this group will guarantee qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Tickets for the 15 October match will go on sale for members of ‘My Football Family on Tuesday 26 August and for the general public on Friday 29 August. Tickets are available from Ticketek or agencies.
Ticket Prices for an adult will range from $52 for a Category C ticket to $122 for a Category A ticket.
Socceroos and Safas play out an entertaining draw
A SECOND HALF super-strike by South African Teko Modise ensured the friendly match between Australia and South Africa ended in a 2-2 draw at Loftus Road, London.
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Verbeek forced into Socceroos reshuffle
Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has made a number of changes to his squad for the friendly match against South Africa at Loftus Road Stadium in London on Tuesday night (London time).
Michael Beauchamp, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell have been omitted due to niggling injuries, while David Carney, Bruce Djite, Richard Garcia, Mark Milligan and Matthew Spiranovic have been added to the squad.
Scott Chipperfield joins the Socceroos for the first time since recovering from a foot injury that has prevented him from appearing in the previous eight international matches.
“Most of the players have just started, or are about to start, their respective domestic competitions and we can now start focusing of the World Cup qualifiers which are just around the corner,” Verbeek said from London.
“With that in mind, we will be looking to try a few different things in the match against South Africa on Tuesday night, he concluded.
Meanwhile South Africa coach Joel Santana has introduced some fresh faces into his 23-man squad and intends on using the match to give younger players an opportunity to impress.
“Unlike at club level, at national level you don’t have the luxury of having your players day in and day out. For instance, this is a short camp with only two limited training sessions.” Santana said
“My players come from different parts of the world and from all corners of the country, and will leave immediately afterwards. So one therefore has to improvise on the given circumstances.”
Australia vs
Tuesday, August 19, 2008.
Kick-Off 8pm BST (5am AEST, Wednesday, August 20)
Olyroos flop out of Olympic tournament against Ivory Coast
SALOMON Kalou has finally put Aussie Football fans and the Olyroos out of their misery by scoring the only goal of the game last night against a poor Graham Arnold side.
Ivory Coast secured second spot with this 1-0 win against Australia and now cruise into the quarter-final stage of the Olympic tournament.
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Olyroos vs Cote d’Ivoire to be shown LIVE
The final group match between Australia and the Ivory Coast will be given the coverage it deserves, with the full match being shown live, but it won’t be seen on Channel Seven.
In a stunning about-face Channel Seven has passed the broadcast rights for the Olyroos versus Ivory Coast match over to “Complementary Broadcast Partner” SBS.
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Socceroos set to meet Holland in another Euro-Friendly
FOOTBALL Federation Australia have gotten serious about World Cup qualification for 2010 by organising yet another European friendly match this time against The Netherlands on September 6, 2008.
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Anzac invasion set to continue at Galatasaray
NOW it looks like Lucas Neill will be joining Socceroos team-mate Harry Kewell at Turkish champions Galatasaray for the start of next season.
The West Ham Captain, who currently has two seasons left on his £60,000-a-week contract is now reported to be on the verge of a shock move to Turkey.
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