Socceroos must forget past and focus on the future

 

The Socceroos have already beaten Qatar twice along the 2010 World Cup qualification path, but those results mean nothing now.

Australia had two straightforward victories over Qatar during Round 3 of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, a 3-0 result in Melbourne followed by a 3-1 triumph in Doha.

Both nations finished Round 3 AFC qualifying on 10 points, with the Socceroos having a far superior goal difference.

However the slate was wiped clean for Round 4 and both teams were drawn into Group A, so the two nations meet again however those previous results mean very little. Qatar also have a new coach, replacing ill Uruguayan Jorge Fossati with Frenchman Bruno Metsu.

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek is likely to select three players who have not appeared in the Green and Gold shirt since his first game in charge, when Australia played Qatar in Melbourne eight months ago.

Tim Cahill, Josh Kennedy and Craig Moore look set to come straight into the starting eleven, with Verbeek leaning towards the same 4-4-2 formation he used in that match at the Telstra Dome.

There have been rumblings about the likelihood of Mark Viduka taking part at some point during the qualifying process.

As well as missing Viduka Australia, as per usual, has key absentees for this clash, with Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella and Harry Kewell all out through injury.

Australia has a right to be confident but must not be complacent, because nothing less than three points on home soil is acceptable at this stage of qualifying.

The Socceroos are currently placed second in Group A (with a game in hand) behind Qatar and must finish first or second to earn direct qualification to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Football Federation Australia has announced that Sydney and Melbourne will host the remaining home World Cup qualifiers.

Sydney will host the Australia’s matches against Uzbekistan on April 1 and Bahrain on June 10, while Melbourne will host Australia’s final match of Round 4 qualifiers against Japan at the MCG on June 17.

Written by
Real Football