Socceroos Realm - Korea/Japan 2002, Australia's World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Korea/Japan 2002
Australia's World Cup Qualifying Campaign

27 March 2001: Few Suprises in Oceania World Cup Squad for a Ludicrous Tournament Setup
In terms of the numbers of locals and overseas players, a fairly predictable squad was announced for the Oceania group phase to be held in Coffs Harbour against Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and American Samoa between 7-16 April. Notable inclusions amongst the eight overseas based players are Glasgow Rangers pair Craig Moore and Tony Vidmar, and Coventry City's John Aloisi as the higher profile overseas players. Of the locals, Damien Mori gets a call-up despite criticising the fact that the local players do all the donkey work against the minnows, yet get no look in for the later games. South Melbourne free kick specialists Con Boutsianis gets a nod despite a court appearance for alleged participation in an armed robbery hanging over his head. If the sport had an interchange rule, he'd be a regular pick for his vicious curling set peices alone.

There has been much controversy about the scheduling of the qualifiers in April. While Farina wanted it in January, Fifa wanted it in June to avoid club release problems. January was out due to the Oceania Club Championships, and Farina declined June due the possibility (at the time) of the Confederations Cup being held at the same time causing a crammed fixture period. Considering the upheaval the April schedule will cause the local and overseas clubs, June should have been the optimum, and indeed, NZ's group will be playing then as well. But Farina has a point too and it would be unrealistic to play so many games in so little time.

Solution comes with a re-jigged qualifying path that would put an end to these ridiculous matches against the tiny countries. As it stands, Australia will play each team just once, and a loss to Fiji, which is a real danger, would spell doom. Totally ridiculous since qualifying should find the best team to go to the finals. Instead, Australia and NZ should have a bye to a final group league scenario which would be a group of 4. The other two teams being two of the other countries that have won the right to join the big boys in this final Oceania qualifying stage. This group would be six matches per team, playing each opponent twice, with the group winner going forward. This system has two advantages: it would be an end to those ridiculous 13-0 scorelines because only the strongest of the island nations would make it through which in turn would make for more competitive games; and, it would give the island nations something to strive for - another tier to reach - and a chance to actually qualify for the World Cup. As it stands, reaching the final Oceania playoff is near impossible for them as they'd have to beat one of the big guns, Australia or NZ, on the way. Then to expect them to beat the other gun in the final Oceania playoff would be nigh on impossible. They still may have little chance in the proposed final group league, but at least they get to have a crack at it.

Goalkeepers Michael Petkovic (South Melbourne), Clint Bolton (Sydney Olympic)
Defenders Fausto de Amicis (South Melbourne), Hayden Foxe (West Ham), Steve Horvat (Melbourne Knights), Scott Miller (Perth Glory), Craig Moore (Glasgow Rangers) Kevin Muscat (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tony Popovic (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Tony Vidmar (Glasgow Rangers),
Midfielders Simon Colosimo (South Melbourne), Con Boutsianis (South Melbourne), Scott Chipperfield (Wollongong Wolves) Steve Corica (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Aurelio Vidmar (Adelaide City) Lindsay Wilson (Sydney Olympic)
Forwards John Aloisi (Coventry) Damian Mori (Perth Glory), Archie Thompson (Marconi) David Zdrilic (Unterhaching)

Phase 1: Oceania Group A, Coffs Harbour
Teams: Australia, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Fiji
7/4/01: Fiji 13 - American Samoa 0, Tonga 1 - Samoa 0
9/4/01: Australia 22 - Tonga 0. A world record in any international beating China's 20-0 defeat of Bhutan in an Asian Cup qualifier last year and Iran's 19-0 over Guam in a World Cup tie last October. Just goes to show how ludicrous the qualification system is, and how pointless teams with such disparity in class facing each other is. An embarrassment to Tonga, Australia, Oceania, not to mention the sport itself. Goals: John Aloisi 15m 24m 37m 44m 51m 61m, Damian Mori 13m 23m 40m 57m, Kevin Muscat 18m pen 29m pen 53m pen 80m, David Zdrilic 76m 90m, Scott Chipperfield 4m 81m, Tony Popovich 67m, Tony Vidmar 73m, Archie Thompson 79m, Con Boutsianis 85m.
9/4/01: Samoa 8 - American Samoa 0. After Tonga beat Samoa 1-0, and Samoa beat American Samoa 8-0, mathematics suggests the farce will continue when Australia beats American Samoa 31-0 for another world record. In fact, the Joeys beat the same team late last year in qualifers, so maybe the senior team will go one better.
11/4/01: Fiji 6 - Samoa 1. Slightly less than convincing win given the relative teams' performance in the first game
11/4/01: Australia 31 - American Samoa 0. As predicted exactly, 31-0 and a new world record. Striker Archie Thompson hit a world record 13 goals in the slaughter. It was 16-0 at half time, and the Samoans managed to keep a clean sheet for the first 10 minutes. Oceania President, Basil Scarscella, defended the format and mis-matches after the Tongan rout by stating it was important for the future development of the island countries and Oceania in general. If 31-0 is going to help American Samoa - the lowest Fifa ranked team - develop, I'd like to know how. Goals: Thompson 12m, 23, 28m, 30m, 32m, 37m, 43m, 45m, 56m, 64m, 66m, 88m, 90m - David Zrdilic 13m, 21m, 26m, 34m, 59m, 67m, 78m, 91m - Tony Popovic 18m, 20m - Con Boutsianis 10m, 51m, 86m - Aurelio Vidmar 15m, 82m - Simon Colosimo 53m, 84m - Fausto De Amicis 55m.
14/4/01: Australia 2 - Fiji 0. In the only game worthy of being called a contest, Australia wore down a resolute Fijian defence to win 2-0. Fiji showed quite good skill and vindicated Farina's decision not to take too many risks by playing overseas-based players. Fiji rarely troubling the Australian goal, however, but at least GK Bolton actually got his hands on the ball a few times unlike Tonga (none) and American Samoa (once). Only downer was Aloisi's torn hamstring. Goals: Corica 26m, Foxe 81m.
14/4/01: Tonga 5 - American Samoa 0
16/4/01: Australia 11 - Samoa 0. A lazy Australian team lead 3-0 at half time before running away with it. They finished the 4-game series scoring 66 goals and conceding none. Goals: A Vidmar 5' 49', D Zdrilic 28' 57', H Foxe 44', T Popovic 55' 89', A Thompson 75' 78, S Chipperfield 76', P Bureta og 81'
16/4/01 Fiji 7 - Tonga 0.

Australia's Squad for the Series
Goalkeepers Michael Petkovic (South Melbourne), Clint Bolton (Sydney Olympic)
Defenders Fausto de Amicis (South Melbourne), Hayden Foxe (West Ham), Steve Horvat (Melbourne Knights), Scott Miller (Perth Glory), Craig Moore (Glasgow Rangers) Kevin Muscat (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tony Popovic (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Tony Vidmar (Glasgow Rangers),
Midfielders Simon Colosimo (South Melbourne), Con Boutsianis (South Melbourne), Scott Chipperfield (Wollongong Wolves) Steve Corica (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Aurelio Vidmar (Adelaide City) Lindsay Wilson (Sydney Olympic)
Forwards John Aloisi (Coventry) Damian Mori (Perth Glory), Archie Thompson (Marconi) David Zdrilic (Unterhaching)

Final Phase: Oceania Final Play-Off, Australia vs New Zealand First Leg
20 June 2001: Scrappy 2-0 Win in Wellington
Australia take a commanding 2-0 win into the return leg of the final Oceania play-off in Sydney on Sunday courtesy of two goals by Brett Emerton. Emerton scored after 5 minutes when a Lazaridis-Skoko one-two saw Lazaridis's cross fall nicely for the outstretched legs of the fast charging Emerton to slot in at point blank range. It was an potentous start to what many predicted to be a white-wash for the Australians. With New Zealand tentative on the ball, and not pressing the Australians when off it, Australia did what they liked for most of the half and could have wrapped the game up if not for some over-indulgent play. Corica was a villain twice when he tried to play cute short crosses instead of having a ping himself. Also, Zane received a ball after a NZ turnover and shot insipidly instead of laying it off for a charging Lazaridis. After 20 minutes, Emerton juggled the ball to make room for a shot that eventually went over the bar.

With half an hour gone, NZ had done little in attack and seemed stagestruck. That all changed when an Australian corner saw NZ's game-plan of holding Australia and then countering on the break, produce its first meaningful attack. Simon Elliot put Conveny through with a lovely long low ball only for the speedy Vidmar to prevent any shot with a late lunging tackle on the ball. This foray prompted more NZ urgency, however, they still seemed restrained in taking on the Australians at full felt. Instead, their early crosses from deep did little to trouble Australia.

Both teams made a change at half time with Zdrillic coming on for Corica in at attempt to capitalise on the stream of constant crosses coming in, while NZ replaced Aaron Lines with Hickey down the right. This moved transformed the team, especially when Hickey instantly provided a cross for Jackson whose shot was saved by Schwarzer, even though it was going just wide of the near post. Not long later, an even better cross from Hickey after some nice build-up play saw the ball land at Coveney's feet. Surrounded by three Australians he still managed to turn and nick a shot away, but it went straight to Schwarzer. A more competitive NZ, meant a less dangerous Australian, but they still created dangerous chances of their own. The best being a Skoko shot that rattled the back-post of the goal. However, their overall performance waned which prompted Farina to bring on Tiatto for Lazaridis to provide more spark in midfield. It never happened as NZ responded even more when an opportunistic long ball saw Killen trap, then create space for a shot that went past the near post. As Australia waned ever further with Emerton marked out of the game and the strikers receiving little service, frustration brought Popovic a yellow card for a late block on Killen. With Zane especially having a rough game, he was replaced by Aloisi who did very little himself.

With both teams seemingly incapable of producing the killer final balls to create goals, instead relied on opportunism, the match seemed destined for a 1-0 win to Australia. However, the Kiwis and another salvo left in them when the dangerous Killen was set free down the right. His fierce shot that was ultimately saved well by Schwarzer. From the ensuing corner, Emerton raced towards a long clearance only for NZ's Zoricich to claim and then pass back to his goal keeper. Emerton pressured Batty, which resulted in his back-pass going straight onto Emerton's head, who then reflexively nodded it into goal. It seemed freakish, but credit to Emerton who saw it coming and deliberately jumped at the ball for the header. The fact that he placed himself in line with the clearance and also had the good sense to stand a small distance back to capitalise on a potential interception showed football intelligence too.

The goal was tough-luck for NZ, as their second half performance easily matched that of a lacklustre Australia. NZ coach Dugdale's aim was for NZ to keep the tie alive for the Sydney match, which has only just managed to achieve that. No doubt Australia will attack a tad more in Sydney, and the only real way for NZ to win is to hope Australia wastes it shots, that Batty saves well, and NZ capitalise on their chances. Maybe a tall order, but it was exactly what Australia accomplished against Brazil and France in the recent Confederations Cup tournament. Granted, they only had to score one goal, not two, so it is extra hard for NZ. That second Australian goal was a real killer and has set them up to advance. However, the win was soured by a late red card on Tiatto - who'd just returned from his honeymoon in Hawaii for these two games - for diving studs-up in on a tackle. The ensuing fracas for that incident, plus a subsequent one shortly after when Killen was given a yellow for bad foul gave something for the home crowd to cheer about. Still, the game in Sydney seems a formality in terms of advancing to the next phase, especially when you consider that NZ has to score three times to win, or even twice to survive.

Australia 2 (Emerton 6', 82') - New Zealand 0
Australia: Mark Schwarzer (gk), Kevin Muscat, Stan Lazaridis, Tony Popovic, Shaun Murphy, Tony Vidmar, Brett Emerton, Paul Okon, Josip Skoko, Steve Corica, Clayton Zane
New Zealand: Jason Batty (gk), Chris Zoricich, Ivan Vicelich, Ryan Nelson, Jonathon Perry, Simon Elliott, Chris Jackson, Aaran Lines, Mark Burton, Cris Killen, Vaughan Coveny

Squad to face New Zealand:
Goalkeepers: Zeljko Kalac, Mark Schwarzer
Defenders: Hayden Foxe, Steve Horvat, Craig Moore, Shaun Murphy, Kevin Muscat, Tony Popovic, Tony Vidmar,
Midfielders: Marco Bresciano, Scott Chipperfield, Steve Corica, Brett Emerton, Stan Lazaridis, Paul Okon, Josip Skoko, Danny Tiatto
Strikers: John Aloisi, Mile Sterjovski, Clayton Zane, David Zdrillic

Final Phase: Oceania Final Play-Off, Australia vs New Zealand Second Leg
24 June 2001: No Fuss, Australia Through
South American beckons as Australia despatched New Zealand 4-1, and 6-1 on aggregate, in today's match at Sydney's Olympic Stadium in front of almost 42,000 fans. As with the first game, Australia scored at six minutes when NZ were caught spare as defensive pressure from Moore saw NZ's Killen pass back only for it to land at the feet of Zrdillic. He cut through the middle on the break and slotted in at the near post. Australia opened just as dominantly as it did in the first leg, and after 11 minutes, Emerton ran onto a fortuitous bouncing ball to break clear down the right. His low cross just sailed past Aloisi at the near post and then taken off the boot of Lazaridis by some good NZ defending at the far post. A corner later on saw Popovic's free header saved well.

Australia continued with all the play as NZ were content to contain and there were penalty claims not long later when a NZ defender's despairing lung to block and Aloisi short cross from the by-line saw it rochet onto his arm as he fell. Rightly, the claims were rejected. Pressure continued with many dangerous excursions into NZ's penalty area, but it was a Skoko free-kick - after a surging Emerton run was illegally foiled - that looked to score when it fooled everyone into thinking it had nestled into the goal. However, it hit the side netting before rolling on top of a fold in the net behind the goal. After 37 minutes, the final phase in this Australian pressure saw the team launch a long ball forward after a NZ corner. Aloisi turned his marker and broke clear. With Emerton in support, Aloisi played the ball through for Emerton, who calmly slotted the ball under Batty's arm.

Batty had had a hard time so far with the crowd giving him a gee-up for every backpass received - and there were many of them - and now had to pick the ball out of his net for a second time which effectively killed off his team's chances of progressing. As for Emerton, it was his third goal in the tie, and it further underlined Emerton's progressing class. The thing that strikes most is his ability to read any hint of an attacking situation and is always charging forward a second or so before anyone else. We saw in the first goal in Wellington that he beat everyone to receive the cross first. Corica, the nominated striker, was too far behind. In fact, Emerton could be just as critical as the "big two" in Australia's forward set up if they are to become a class fast breaking team that all the top national teams are. Doing it against NZ is one thing, doing against the better teams in the world is another.

The goal saw a change in tempo of the match as Australia eased up, and it also saw Popovic replaced by Murphy after sustaining a lower back injury. NZ started to create chances as Killen missed a relatively easy header after Perry did good work down the right and crossed precisely. Conveny then made a run down the left and cut back from the by-line and passed to Killen. However, he was pressured by two Australians and failed to get a shot off. Towards the end of the half, Perry again broke free into the box on the left with Vidmar pressuring him. However, Vidmar clipped the ankle of Perry which saw the referee reward a penalty. It seemed straight forward at first look, but in slo-mo, it showed Perry's trailing leg actually clip Vidmar's foot after he'd planted it after stabbing at the ball, not Vidmar actually ankle-tapping him. Obviously unable to see Vidmar's leg, Perry would have no hope of avoiding it, unlike in a front-on situation. So maybe in this situation, its incumbent on the defender to be more careful with stabs at the ball because, in reality, he has little chance of winning the ball anyway meaning his action has nothing but spoiling connotations. There also is that old tackle-from-behind rule to consider, so it probably was the correct decision. Regardless, the player was tripped and Conveny expertly slotted the ball to give NZ its first World Cup goal against Australia in 12 years.

While it brought NZ back into the game, they still needed 3 more goals to win the tie. They brought on a third striker in Urlovic, in replace of mid-fielder Atkinson, but the first 10 minutes of the half produced little else other than niggling fouls. NZ were first to threaten goal, however, when Conveny - again NZ's best player - skipped past Vidmar to get in good crossing position on the left. His near-post low cross found Urlovic, but his shot went across the face of goal. At 2-2, it would have been interesting, but that miss seemed their last hope since they simply had to take their chances. Instead, Emerton almost immediately broke through down the right to cross precisely to Zdrillic at the far post. His shot/take-down was padded down via hand by a NZ defender, but it still went straight to Aloisi on the goal-line who tapped it in. Australia were now through, for sure. Farina then replaced Skoko and Okon - who'd actually had a very quiet game - with Bresciano and Horvat in midfield. Bresciano immediately made an impact when he ran through the centre of the park after some sweet interplay with Zdrillic to release Emerton, predictably, whose shot was actually well saved by Batty. And NZ responded when Conveny again provided a chance when his cutback cross threatened, but Schwarzer and co snuffed out the danger.

With 15 minutes to go, a corner saw a spilled ball cleaned up by Zrdillic, who crossed back into the box. Aloisi was on the end of it, but was correctly adjudged at being offside. As the game opened up with NZ desperate to score, Urlovich had a snap-shot on the edge of the box that went straight to Schwarzer. Vidmar then broke down the left for Australia and was seemingly fouled in the penalty box. However, he popped back up with the ball just behind him and managed to lay it off for Zrdillic. His shot was well blocked by Batty, but the rebound was popped into goal to give Australia its fourth and Zdrillic his second goal of the match. The final salvo for the night was a Lazaridis run into the box where he should have had a ping himself, especially after Aloisi had dragged his marker wide. Instead, as he looked to pass the ball off, the moment was lost, as Batty took the ball off his feet. Post match, Okon thanked the crowd for its support and hoped to provide a similar result (4-1) come November. I think we'd all take that.

So now Australia faces that moment of truth that has been so often the case once every four years when it faces the fifth best South American team in November (most likely Colombia, though Uruguay are a chance with Brazil an outside chance) for a spot in the World Cup. Melbourne's MCG - the site of that infamous Iran game - will host the home leg. Between then and now, Australia have two matches scheduled: Japan in Japan in an Asian-Oceania Challenge, and France at the MCG in early November. There is an international Wednesday scheduled in October and the team is hoping to arrange a European match then too. Unfortunately, the dominance of Australia over NZ has furthermore hurt Oceania's credibility and its chances of a direct spot since it would effectively give Australia a permanent spot. The most disheartening thing was that there was no emotion on the Kiwis' faces come the final whistle, when they should have been shattered. Their resigned outlook on the series was obvious from the start - and in all the other Oceania nations' minds along the way - and that is not what World Cup qualifiying should be about. It is sad to think that teams go into such games with little expectation. Facts are, Oceania now comprises of Australia and cannon-fodder. That's sad. The other nations will not be up to speed in the foreseeable future, if at all, and there really is now no choice but to kill the Confederation, or at least link it with one other, if a direct spot is not given. Given their small membership and relative close proximity, that link should be with South America to create a permanent Pan-Pacific confederation. When you consider that Asia also comprises of the Gulf nations and some former Soviet republics, South America is close. With already more than 40 members, Asia does not want us anyway, especially given a strong Australia would potentially wipe out one of their World Cup spots. The South American confederation is the only way to go whereby future qualifying is by two groups of six nations (5 South American and 1 Oceanianic), and it would also give us a meaningful Confederation Championships every 2 years.

There was much talk by the commentators of the yellow card situation and whether players would be suspended for the next phase, or if single yellow cards be carried over. Typically Fifa has no set rules and no decision has been made, but thankfully no players picked up two cards during the tie or were sent off in this match, though four did pick up yellows in this series (Okon and Emerton in this game, Popovic and Skoko in the first). But if there is any indication of what might happen, Iran argued successfully last time and had 4 players' suspensions repealed and all yellows quashed. However, Baghari who'd been red carded in their previous match, was suspended. You'd think Fifa would be consistent as the scenario is identical in that the two phases of the qualifying are totally separate series. So suspensions shouldn't affect Australia having its best team available come November, but will that be enough? Save for some more preparation matches to reinforce the cohesion already developed, the team is capable of beating the fifth best South American team. The next 5 months is just a matter of biding our time, and waiting and seeing. With the memory of Iran still lingering, until that final whistle blows with Australia leading the tie, focus must be retained.

Australia 4 (Zdrilic 6' 83', Emerton 37', Aloisi 56') - New Zealand 1 (Coveny pen 44')
At Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Crowd: 41,976
Aggregate Score: Australia 6 - New Zealand 1
Australia: Mark Schwarzer (gk), Tony Vidmar, Tony Popovic (Shaun Murphy 37'), Craig Moore, Kevin Muscat, Stan Lazaridis, Josip Skoko (Marco Bresciano 60'), Paul Okon (captain) (Steve Horvat 60'), Brett Emerton, David Zdrilic , John Aloisi.
New Zealand: Jason Batty (gk), Ivan Vicelich, Ryan Nelsen, Chris Zoricich (captain), Jonathan Perry (Gerard Davis 79’), Simon Elliott, Mark Atkinson (Paul Urlovic 46’), Chris Jackson, Noah Hickey, Chris Killen, Vaughan Coveny.

2 September 2001: Australia to Play Away First
Frank Farina felt his team's chances of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup suffered a blow when Fifa announced that the first leg of the two-leg tie will be played in Australia first. The match is set for 18 November - 4 days after the final South American qualifier - with the return in South America one week later, the deadline for all qualifiers to finish. Farina's feeling that playing at home last is a huge advantage because the team knows exactly what is needed in order to qualify. But surely you would still know what it takes to qualify if playing away last? The inference is that when playing at home you have more control over the final score-line. Baloney. Where was that control against Iran? Where was it against Israel? Yes, home ground is an advantage - an historical advantage that suggests you're more likely to win - but it is an advantage that should be taken first, like in just about every other sport. Tennis players serve first, cricketers take advantage of prevailing wicket conditions first, AFL teams kick with the wind first, even finalists on the Weakest Link TV show go first! And so on. Soccer should be no different.

Of course, Farina raised the altitude issue, in that playing away first means more time to acclimatise. Under the current scenario, after the first leg, both teams will only have one week to acclimatise in South America. Under the scenario of playing at home last, the South Americans will enjoy a longer acclimatisation period as they'd already be there for their own qualifiers. But Australia would still only have a week to acclimatise since they have the France match on the 11th. Fifa has done Australia a huge favour because not only do we get the home ground advantage first, but it means Australia will be in Australia for at least two weeks, while the South Americans will have to hot-foot it over here to play a hostile match just three days after their final match. And it will be three days later, because they will lose a day since they cross the international date-line. Not to mention the jet lag issue that Australia won't have to deal with at all. It's the best possible decision Australia could have hoped for. It's a pity that Farina does not realise it. Look out for a full editorial on the Home vs Away debate coming soon.

18 November 2001: Time, Weather, Falling Into Place, and Should Popovic Play?
The much talked about travel and jet-lag factor has taken a higher profile with news today that Uruguay will be forced to fly home via Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, a round trip that will see them in Montevideo 18 hours after Australia arrive. With the late finish of the South American qualifiers, they were unable to obtain seats on the direct flight to Argentina on Wednesday. Australia managed to get in early enough to obtain business class seats for the squad. While it seems the travel factor will further enhance Australia's chances, truth is, it's one of those intangibles that we don't really know about. Sure it takes time to adjust to the new time zone, but providing you do get enough sleep before hand, regardless of when it is taken, it's unlikely to affect performance enough on the pitch to a degree hat a tangible benefit (like a specific number of goals) can be deduced. Just like playing away-last in a playoff situation that conventional wisdom dictates is preferred, the tangible affect of travel needs to be researched before grasping at it as some sort of advantage. Now, if Fifa had stuck by the original playoff dates - which they should have as it was South America's responsibility to have their qualifiers completed in time - then maybe Uruguay would be in some trouble after having arrived only 48 hours earlier. But again, we just don't really know what tangible affect there'd be. Would they suddenly collapse in defence and concede 4 goals? Unlikely. The only thing that can be correctly presumed is that you'd rather not have to deal with it if you did not have to.

As it's turned out, the change in dates has now helped Australia as well as allowing Uruguay two extra days to acclimatise. Sunday morning in Melbourne was rainy and blustery, and while the skies have cleared in the afternoon, it is still blowing a gale. And wind is the last thing you want in a game were you are trying to score. In contrast, as the weather clears, Tuesday will be still and fine with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees. Weather-wise, Tuesday night should be perfect.

The only player carrying a selection-hampering injury is Tony Popovic. His foot injury has allowed Shaun Murphy to assume a stopper role, which he did with aplomb against France. He's played regularly for Australia, generally rotating with Popovic and Moore in the two stopping roles. The question arises of who should play if Popovic is passed fit. The consensus is that Popovic will come back in, with the reasoning being that his better passing will help given that Australia will be for the most part attacking. Whereas, Murphy's penchant for scoring headers from set pieces is seen as not has important in the home leg. But I disagree. With Uruguay's midfield dropping off, there'll hardly be a need for precision passing from defence. And with the glut of corners and free kicks expected, Murphy's scoring talents will come to the fore. In contrast, in the away leg when 50 metre precision passes will be required from the defence when counter attacking, this is where Popovic should play. Murphy should therefore play in Melbourne, while Popovic - who'd have even more time to recover from his injury - could play in Montevideo, especially if a result is needed.

As for Kewell, the decision of playing off-striker or wide-left seems to moving to the latter, especially with Farina's statement that width will be the key to scoring. Fact is, with Uruguay seemingly likely to pack their defence, Australia will need as many dangerous players going forward as possible. Strikers are always closely monitored, so playing Kewell there will be a waste. If they're going to mark him, get them to commit an extra player, and stretch them as much as possible. Now, that leaves a quandary about playing Lazaridis. As a starter, I'd say Farina will stick to the traditional back four. But since he finished the game against France at left-back, he could play there at some stage of the game, especially if goals are not coming.

Again, the great thing to remember is flexibility. With Vidmar able to play either side of defence, and Tiatto able to play left or even centre left, there are so many options available. For Uruguay, it will be one huge guessing game.

17 November 2001: Yellow Cards Wiped Out
Okon, Emerton, Skoko and Popovic can now rest assured as Fifa confirmed that yellow cards from previous World Cup qualifying sections will be erased. It's something else positive for Australia heading into Tuesday's qualifier, especially as it initially looked like Fifa were going to be their usual dumb selves by retaining the cards until common sense compelled them to do otherwise. It's not just common sense or ever fairness or even for the good of the game anyway, it's simply being consistent with what has happened in previous campaigns. If rules are going to be changed, it should be done pre-campaign, not during it.

This comes on the back of the news that Uruguay's star striker Dario Silva will miss the series against Australia with a dislocated shoulder. He scored the critical goal against Argentina on Thursday. Despite comments that Uruguay were the preferred opponent due to travel reasons and playing at sea level - which is 100% true anyway - on ability, they are also preferred. No one wants to play Brazil even in the worst of times, and Colombia - this year's Copa America champions - would have proven very tricky, especially at altitude. While no doubt Uruguay have a reasonable replacement for Silva to test the locals, his unavailability further reduces the overall potency of this already defensive team that while having more players playing in the higher profile Italian and Spanish leagues, most are fringe players or playing with lowly teams. Even their recent World Cup history is poor. They've not qualified since 1990 and while they won two early World Cups when most of Europe failed to attend, they've frequently failed to even qualify, and when they have, failed to even reach semi finals. Of course, Australia's record is nothing flash either, but in Uruguay, they really have an opponent that is more beatable than either Brazil or Colombia, or even Ecuador or Paraguay, whose blistering home form - too good for even Argentina - set both teams up for qualification.

Farina has spoken about playing Aloisi up front and Kewell wide, as he believes width is the key to victory. While that's most likely true, the talk could be all bluff. Regardless of how they play, Uruguay will sit back in the first leg meaning the tie will most likely be decided in the return leg when they will be forced to open up and Australia can go forward more freely. Wherever Kewell plays in the first leg, in the return he most likely will play up front to have more opportunity at running at players in the team's more likely counter attacking approach. The France game showed he is equally adept in both positions anyway, so if Australia need to force a result, the versatility of the squad will still allow him to play wide-left. It really does depend on how the match is going.

There's been much talk about the impact of qualification on the sport in this country which is greatly exaggerated. The same talk existed before the Iran series, and if anything, the sport has gone ahead. There's far more interest in the sport now, it gets better media coverage, especially in the newspapers, and even NSL crowds are up. The sport won't die if we fail and the NSL won't have sell-out crowds if we win. The many soccer fans are well too educated to be affected tangibly by the result. In fact, the only tangible impact will be the financial rewards that would see the Soccer Australia out of debt and able to plan more long-term. The main effect on the public from this campaign will be more people interested in the sport, especially the Socceroos, and that's regardless of the result. The prestige of Argentina and the depression of Iran has already been achieving this. The World Cup will add some more, and so too would Australia's participation. Coming from someone that fits into this categorisation of convert exactly, that is really it.

19 November 2001: Team Remains Unchanged and No Time For Fatalism
Australia will go into tomorrow night's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay with the same starting eleven that started against France last Sunday week. Unsurprisingly in the end, Farina has chosen to stick to similar player positioning that he has implemented since day one. In the handful of games Kewell has played, he has always started up front, or off-striker, while Lazaridis and Tiatto have held the wide left positions. While Kewell no doubt would excel on the left, his positioning their would sacrifice Lazaridis' - who has become increasing valuable at dead ball situations - place in the team. And of course, his crossing is almost without peer in the national team. The only other option would be to play Lazaridis at left back, but given the power of away-goals, playing four genuine defenders is by far the safer option. With Uruguay's defence likely to gravitate towards Kewell and Viduka, there should be plenty of room for Lazaridis, and Emerton on the right, to exploit. The key will be the quick transfer of play and getting balls out wide quickly.

The starting eleven: Mark Schwarzer; Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Shaun Murphy, Tony Vidmar; Brett Emerton, Paul Okon (c), Josip Skoko, Stan Lazaridis; Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell.

There's much talk leading up to the game as to what sort of lead do Australia need to take to Uruguay to defend. Many, including renown Australian soccer commentator Johnny Warren, seem to think we need at least a 2-0 win to survive. That seems quite fatalistic in that it suggests that if we don't win the first leg we are gone. Rubbish. Coach Farina has stated that he'd gladly take a 1-0 win, but feels that even with a 0-0 we are still very much in it. And so we would. In historical context of home legs for Australia, 0-0 will be a good score, and it is a hell of a lot better than 2-2. It's amazing to think that 0-0 draw is not much different to a 2-1 win. Thanks to the away-goals rule, Uruguay have to score one goal at home to win the tie regardless. Of course, 0-0 means we'd have to score, but since Uruguay have to start opening up, then there's all the more chance for us to score a goal - an away goal, at that.

Looking at a 1-0 win, historically that would have been a fantastic result. It would have taken us to the finals in 1997, would have seen extra time in 1993 against Argentina, no penalty shoot-out against Canada in 1993 and qualification to the final stages in 1989 and 1981 when playing Israel and New Zealand respectively. Remember, it is not harder to score away from home, it is harder to win. A 1-0 win at home, coupled with a scored-loss away, will probably get us through. It is those away-goals that are the real bastards, and they are the things that have crucified us in the past.

Why should we be writing off the away leg as a probable loss and needing a lead to defend anyway? It really is just another match. If it was a one-off, we'd certainly be trying to win it. So regardless of what happens in Melbourne - save for a huge victory - there is no reason to not try and win it this time. At 0-0 after the first leg, to me, means the tie is still 50/50. Even a narrow loss, won't be that bad. All it means is that Uruguay won a match - it does not suddenly make them superior. Both team's abilities still remain the same, so what they do to us, we can just as easily do to them. And if they do go home with a lead, the pressure will be so enormous on them to retain it that they just might panic and crumble. Having said all that, yes, we'd like to win at home. But lets not write the team off if it fails to happen. That's the last they need.

Over the years, post-Iran, it's been encouraging to see the interest in the sport and the Socceroos steadily increase. The level of newspaper and mainstream TV coverage, often with 6 pages and headline news respectively, has been extraordinary. This series against Uruguay, regardless of the result, will see many more converts. The ashes from the Iran debacle also sporned the Socceroo Realm. Contrary to many people's feelings, I feel no malice towards them. It was not their fault they were our opponents and they had every right to win as much as we did. It was not even their fault that they won; it was our fault that we lost. They went on to provide the most intense match of France 98, against the USA, and I was sure as hell rooting for them to win, just as I have been for them to qualify this time. Being on the receiving end last time, I can only sympathise with them this time after they blew their direct qualification spot from their group against tiny Bahrain, and then failed to get past Ireland in their final playoff.

The past four years has seen the Socceroo Realm develop a solid hard-core following. Many emails have been received, from many new fans of our one and only truly national sporting team. Obviously, I will be at the game. In section Q21, seats C17-C21 in the top deck of the Great Southern Stand to be exact. I'll be there by 6.30. Feel free to introduce yourself if you're close by.

This will be the final update before the big game. There's been little emotion regarding the impending playoff - I call it the Iran Syndrome where all emotion is suppressed until that final whistle blows. There is no expectation, there is no fear. And there will be none pre-game, or during the game. Only for 15 minutes late today at work did I start contemplating the scene of how I will react, and of what the Socceroo Realm front page may look like, when the final whistle blows in Montevideo At the moment, it is just one big unknown. Will that change after tomorrow night's result when our chances become clearer either way? I doubt it. That's what the Iran Syndrome does to you. Farina's perception is correct in that it will be only half time. Other than a landslide result either way, don't read anything into the final result. What one team can do it one half, the other team can do in the other half. And in soccer, it can often be done in just 5 minutes. Just remember that.

20 November 2001: Finally, A World Cup Result At Home
For the first time ever Australia has won a final stage World Cup qualifying home game. But more importantly, Australia kept a clean sheet in a crunch playoff, something not achieved since 1973 when Iran were defeated 3-0. Coach Farina got his wishes for a pre-game 1-0 win when Kevin Muscat converted a penalty in the 79th minute to see Australia grind out a deserved 1-0 victory over Uruguay. However, as the players and the coach have so quickly pointed out, it is only half time, with the away leg still to play. It is set to kick-off at 6am Monday, Australian Eastern time. Uruguay will recall Dario Silva, who has recovered from his shoulder injury, and will no doubt be more offensively minded than the seemingly impenetrable force that they set up at the MCG.

The five-man backline double and triple teamed Viduka and Kewell, and were quick to close down any player in a dangerous attacking position. Lazaridis, while still getting several of his typically good crosses in, especially found it difficult at stages with limited space to run into. He was substituted at half time with Paul Agostino, who played up front with Viduka, while Kewell was switched to the left where he normally plays with his club. This immediately proved a success, with Australia creating more opportunities as the Uruguayan defence became stretched in trying to close him down. This freed up space for Viduka to get more into the game, who started playing more interchange passes, whilst Agostino's superior heading capabilities was allowed to come to the fore. Two of Australia's three best open-play chances came in the second half following the switch. The first saw Agostino head onto the apex of the goal post and cross bar, and the other chance set up the penalty when Agostino was dragged down. Muscat converted that coolly - driving straight down the middle - as the goalie dived right. Kewell was instrumental in both chances when he slipped past a defender to receive a ball from Vidmar, and re-possessed the ball after losing it through a double-team when making a run from deep. He got free on a couple of other times too, but his crosses let him down or the Uruguayan defence were able to clear the ball. The other main chance came from the right when Emerton broke free and sent in a low cross to Viduka, only for a defender to kick the ball away for yet another corner.

In contrast to the many second half half-chances created, the first half saw few. Only Moore's fifth minute header from one of the many Australian corners for the half, forced Uruguay's goalie into a save. Forwards were closed down as Uruguay seemed content for a 0-0 draw. Their tactics meant they posed little danger in attack and only when Australia scored did they bother to put any urgency into their attacks. However, they did nearly manage to stole a goal after only three minutes when Recoba's lob from near the half-way line nearly caught Schwarzer out. And in the second half, Recoba broke free several times, but with little support, was forced to shoot from poor positions.

The match was played in good spirits, with only two yellow cards, where defences from both sides excelled. Craig Moore played superlatively with his speed to track back, as the entire defence played with great discipline and shape. Uruguay were given no dangerous free kicks for Recoba to strike, received few corners and were tackled cleanly. Despite all tickets sold out, only 84,656 fans turned up to a stadium that holds 96,000. While some of that could be attributed to the match being on a Tuesday that kept early birds and interstaters away who'd expected a weekend match, there were pockets of empty seats around the ground along with several bays almost totally empty that seems to suggest a ticketing screw-up either directly to the public, or though travel companies who'd bought blocks of seats and failed to on-sell them to the public with match/travel/accomodation packages. Again, no doubt the Tuesday date would have hurt latter scenario. Thanks again, Fifa.

The crowd seemed louder than the one at the Iran game, with the national anthem, the goal, and presence of the Prime Minister's ugly mug on the scoreboard, provoking amazingly loud noise. There were even boos when Uruguay's coach popped out for a look before the game which may have been the reason his team did not warm-up on the ground. The Italian referee did a good job but surely - under Fifa's rule regarding professional foul's in a goal scoring situation - a red card was in order to the Rodriguez that brought Agostino down.

The only real downer for Australia was that - in yet another Fifa cock-up - Danny Tiatto was belatedly banned for these two qualifiers resultant from the red card incurred against New Zealand. Australia were under the impression than the recent matches against France and Japan were sufficient enough to serve the suspension, but Fifa's announcement that that suspensions must be served in the same competition - World Cup qualifying - struck a real blow. A disappointed Tiatto has gone back to his club, Manchester City. Also, there was the travel situation that originally saw Uruguay forced to spend almost an extra day travelling due to a booked-out direct flight to South America. Well, the Uruguayans have swallowed their pride and will now travel back on the same flight, albeit in economy class. That surely must be a bit of a come-down, especially with Australia relaxing in business!

As this page is being updated, Australia are on their way to Uruguay for the biggest match of their lives. The 1-0 home win means a draw or scoring in one-goal loss will see them through. It will be interesting to see if Farina starts with Kewell up front, or sticks with the set-up that saw out the first leg so outstandingly well. While it was clearly superior on the night, Australia may not take any risks and revert to the original line-up with the more defensively-inclined Lazaridis. While Kewell was out wide, he rarely tracked back to defend. Uruguay now have to score, so Lazaridis should enjoy a less claustrophobic time of it on the left. That leaves Kewell, Viduka and Emerton ready to hit on the break.

One thing noticed from Tuesday's match was the lack of lobs over the top to the wide players. Too often, the wingers tracked back to pick up the ball, and were confronted by a double-teaming Uruguayan defence on turning back. This made it very difficult to get crosses in, and when they did, the delay meant extra Uruguayan bodies got back to repel the danger. Leading up-field so often could largely be attributed to Uruguay playing so deep, but if they press up in Montevideo, more lobs will be the key to getting behind them to gain that valuable away goal - an almost invaluable away goal actually. The result in Melbourne means if Australia can score one goal over there, Uruguay will need to score three in response. Given Australia's good goal-scoring away record in the past, plus extra freedom up front, especially if they continue to hold Uruguay scoreless, an away goal is highly probable. Plus, there is the jet-lag issue, that whilst seemingly non existent in Melbourne, could tell against Uruguay in Montevideo.

Of course, there is still no reason to get excited and raise expectations. There's a long way to go. Just hold on for the ride of your lives because if anything, the second leg will be even more intense than the first.

How the match panned out.
3rd minute: Uruguay star Alvaro Recoba attempts a cheeky long-range chip from 40 metres, forcing Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to gather centimetres under the crossbar.
5: Craig Moore makes solid contact with a header from a Stan Lazaridis corner, forcing Uruguay goalie Fabian Carini to tip the ball over the bar.
32: Recoba gets his first real chance to run at the Australian defence, but slices his shot wide to the left.
33: Federico Magallanes whips in a bouncing left-footer from outside the penalty area, but Schwarzer gathers comfortably.
34: Dario Rodriguez is yellow-carded by Italian referee Graziano Cesari for chopping Harry Kewell from behind.
39: Kewell runs at the Uruguay defence but his shot misses well to the right.
46: Half-time. Australia goes into the break having forced seven corners to nil but with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.

46: Socceroos substitute Paul Agostino replaces Lazaridis for the start of the half. No changes for Uruguay.
47: Australian Brett Emerton's low cross towards goal is cleared behind by Uruguay defender Daniel Lembo for a corner.
50: Uruguay's Gonzalo De Los Santos puts a header just wide from a Recoba free-kick.
52: Jinking run from Recoba brings a sharp save from Schwarzer for Uruguay's first corner of the match.
55: Recoba's dipping long-range shot goes just wide of the left-hand post.
60: Australian defender Kevin Muscat's long-range shot well held by Carini.
63: Schwarzer makes a fine near-post save from Recoba.
65: Agostino misses with a close-range scissors kick after a Kewell free-kick.
69: Agostino hits the post with a header from a Kewell cross.
72: Uruguay substitution. Federico Magallanes is replaced by Guillermo Giacomazzi.
77: Uruguay substitution. Javier Chevanton is replaced by Mario Reguiero.
78: Agostino is brought down in the box by a Uruguayan defender. Referee awards a penalty.
79: Muscat slots home the penalty. Australia leads 1-0.
87: Muscat booked.
92: Full-time. Australia wins 1-0.

Australia: Mark Schwarzer; Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Tony Vidmar, Shaun Murphy; Brett Emerton, Paul Okon, Josip Skoko, Stan Lazaridis (Paul Agostino, 46), Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka.

25 November 2001: Team Remains Unchanged For Day Of Destiny
Australia will start with the eleven that started both the first leg and the France games in tomorrow's second leg of their final World Cup playoff. Not really unexpected given it's been coach Farina's preference to start matches this series with the more cautious line-up. Since this game has all the cards on the line, and, against a team eventually wanting to press forward, it was all the more reason to start similarly. If a blitzkrieg occurs from the kick-off, Australia will need all on hands on deck to repel them. Off course, if the time comes that we need to score, as with the recent games, the team is flexible enough to move Kewell out wide and bring on the extra striker. Despite what most people think, the Kewell/Viduka partnership has worked well. The team has created chances and looked dangerous, but when the forwards are double and triple team, it makes them seem less effective. It will be interesting to see how they operate this game with the more space that the game scenario should provide them. Not to mention Lazaridis will be able to enjoy a better time of it where he can measure his crosses more effectively.

Okon was asked in a media interview of how he would react if we qualify, and after rattling through several options, settled on the lie-down and cry scenario. Well, I am prepared to bet the opposite will occur, wildly running around excited as hell. Personally, I've tried not to even think about reactions and the like. In fact, qualifying for the World Cup is an odyssey that has no logical end until it actually happens. That way, emotion will only occur when we eventually make it. Failing to qualify will simply see the journey still to be completed. There will be no end, and no new beginning, just a continuation and hence nothing to get depressed about. Hopefully Monday morning won't see this non-emotion theory being tested.

Meanwhile, Uruguay have recalled striker Dario Silva - somehow recovered from a dislocated collarbone that kept him out of the first leg. Also coming in is speed winger Regueiro in place of defender Tais who was hopelessly out-played on Tuesday. Obviously Uruguay now has a more attacking presence, which is great news for Australia as the sought to gain an away goal or two that will almost kill off Uruguay. Interestingly, Uruguay's media are arrogantly tipping a whitewash, 3-0, against Australia. Since Uruguay have only once scored more than one goal at home in these qualifiers - a 4-0 win against Ecuador who simply had a bad game - scoring three goals, let alone three clear goals, and they need at least two clear goals to win, seems unlikely. Any whitewash should come from Australia. One or two away goals could see Uruguay crumble. Most likely, Uruguay will respect our attackers and not attack in waves until the last half an hour and a dogged draw will be fought out. I see it remaining 0-0 for most of the game, with Australia scoring a late second half goal to calm our nerves. Uruguay may get one, or even two back, but it won't be enough.

Australia's starting eleven: Mark Schwarzer; Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Shaun Murphy, Tony Vidmar; Brett Emerton, Josip Skoko, Paul Okon, Stan Lazaridis; Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell.
Uruguay's starting eleven: Fabian Carini; Dario Rodriguez, Paolo Montero, Alejandro Lembo; Gonzalo De Los Santos, Pablo Garcia, Gianni Guigou, Mario Rugueiro, Alvaro Recoba; Dario Silva, Federico Magallanes.

26 November 2001: Another Four Years Down The Drain
Australia's dream of qualification for the World Cup has ended for another four years after succumbing 3-0 to Uruguay this morning. While early signs were good for Australia after an early raid down the right, eighty minutes of hard work attaining a goal in Melbourne was wiped out in just over 10 minutes in Montevideo as Uruguay's long-ball tactics paid dividends when Dario Silva shrugged off Shaun Murphy after receiving a long ball from deep, then simply slotted it past Schwarzer in goal. Australia were unable to counter-act Uruguay's tactics and were constantly caught square in defence. Whilst at the other end, tentativeness and nerves seemed to conspire against them as they found it difficult to maintain any form of possession. Half time could not come quick enough, and while their lead was wiped out, Australia were still very much in the game as one away goal would still mean Uruguay would have to score twice more to advance.

Australia came into the game 10 minutes into the second half when it seemed like a matter of "when", not "if", that they'd soon score. Viduka had the best chance, amongst several, to level the score when he headed over the bar from point blank range when an Okon long throw seemingly suprised him as it bounced upwards. However, as Uruguay seemed to be succumbing, Recoba broke from midfield and eventually won himself a free kick for seemingly an innocuous tackle after being harassed by the back-tracking defenders. Like with most of his team-mates, collapsing in a heap after any Australian challenge seemed to convince the referee the tackle was more serious than what it actually was. His left foot then launched the ball over the wall, onto the head of a team-mate, then straight into goal. This really killed Australia's chances, and while one goal would still be enough, Uruguay could now sit back and defend, making their task made that much tougher.

Despite an Agostino header from a corner that the goalie managed to tip over the bar, and a Kewell cross that was just inches away from the head of Aloisi, Australia were unable to break through. As Australia pushed forward, they were caught spare at the back, whereby a 90th minute Uruguayan goal sealed the result. Simply, it was not meant to be.

It is very difficult to find answers so soon after the event, but clearly, Australia were unable to adjust tactically to the long balls in the first half - balls that really should not have posed the threat that they actually did. It was amazing how often they seemed short of men at the back. In contrast, Australia's forwards were greeted with the double and triple man teaming that we saw in Melbourne. Nerves seemd to get the better off the team, which really showed in the lack of conviction in their defensive duties of reading the play, intercepting and tackling the opposition. It was only after the first Uruguayan goal that they started to settle, and that 20 minute second half period preceding the second goal that they showed the form of a team that we know they should be.

In the end, they simply lost a football match - which can happen to any team on the day. Like many, many teams that have qualified and lost matches along the way, they had a bad one. That's football. Shit happens, so to speak. It was just unfortunate it occurred in this game. Of course, what's different, is the qualification system. We get one chance, the rest of the world gets many. Uruguay had 18 games to get it right, and when they could not, they got another two.

I suppose anger was the main emotion felt immediately after the game - anger that we got screwed by the system again. What happens on the football pitch is one of those magical experiences that can't be controlled. Our qualification path can be. The regret is that once Fifa announced the playoff scenario three or so years ago, Oceania should have kicked up a stink then and threatened to boycott the World Cup. It's better to stand up for the principle of what is fair, than to go along with the status quo and suffer the consequences at the end. Fifa's fair play dictum is a joke. So is the their "good for the game" slogan. It may as well stand for "for good for the game, but screw Oceania", for that is all that it amounts to.

27 November 2001: It's No Iran, But It Still Hurts
Over thirty six hours have past since Australia were eliminated from the World Cup, and already, fans, players and administrators are already looking forward. The game will not die, and our team are good enough. It just did not fall our way on the day. Most now realise that our qualifying path is unfair and that we were beaten because of it. In contrast to the Iran debacle, there won't be any protracted "what went wrong" critiques, because simply, nothing really did go wrong. The team had a bad day and were a tad unlucky, which is something that no one can prepare for. However, the match still needs analysis and the future needs attention. Look for those late Wednesday night (sorry for the delay, but there's that small issue of work to attend to!) and within a week or so, respectively. The match was rewatched tonight, without the encumbrances of emotion to interfere. The front page has been given a bit of a facelift to reflect the transition from Iran to Uruguay. And if you're wondering about that quote below the main heading, well, at just before 10.30 am, my friends and I felt motivated to have breakfast, and whilst looking out the window at the local McDonald's munching on a muffin, I uttered these words, along with "why is everyone behaving so normally". This is when the loss really hit. The sadness swelled, and tears finally fell. The day felt so surreal. The loss felt too unreal. Four years of build-up, and it is all over in the space of two hours. I suppose it is this sudden climax and termination of our campaign that makes it even harder. South Americans ride the journey of qualification for almost 2 years; we get barely one week. There's just no value in it.

29 November 2001: Montevideo - Simply A Bad Day Out.
Questions, questions, questions. After every failed World Cup campaign, the same questions are asked, and inevitably the same answers are provided. The consensus from just about all media and commentators this time is, that on the pitch, the team were not good enough. But on second viewing of the match, free of emotional encumbrances that invidiously exaggerate the magnitude of the respective teams' play, truth is, the Uruguay supremacy in the first half was no where near the level that our fear propelled it to be. And Australia's performance was not that bad. In fact, we had more corners (7-5) and a only a few less shots (14-18). Reguiero, who played wide on the left, did not have the blinder that we thought he all did. And those damn Uruguayan long balls were most often wayward or defended with ease. On balance, their first half was probably equal to Australia's level of dominance in the second half. Sure the first half saw Uruguay create the best chances, but in the second half, it was Australia that created the best. In fact, other than the two goals and a shot that came just after the second goal, Uruguay virtually did nothing.

Let's also remember that this play-off was over two games. Uruguay's attacking presence in Melbourne was far less than Australia's in Uruguay. The playoff result was 1 win each, and Australia lost only on aggregate goals despite having more corners, more shots and probably more of the total game time. In the old days, a tied game result in a playoff would have seen a third game played in a neutral country. As discussed in the Home-First Editorial, the aggregate goal rule is just as big a farce as the away goals rule. In this type of primary-chance playoff, as distinct from the second-chance playoff that Europe has, a third game must be played as it would help produce the best team overall and a genuine winner. Instead, in Uruguay, all we got was "the best team on the day". Surely World Cup qualifying should be more than just that?

Anyway, right from the kick-off, Uruguay played the pressing game, but it was Australia that nearly got off to the dream start. A lovely interchange of passes down the right involving Emerton and Viduka saw Emerton scuff his shot from an acute angle which went wide. Maybe a small chip back to Viduka would have been better, but given the adrenalin rush of such an early chance, you could forgive Emerton in going for glory. Really, that was the moment that set the tone for the match. A goal there, and it would have been all over. However, the wild miss allowed Uruguay to play as normal, as they executed their plan of playing long diagonal balls wide to Reguiero - camped on the right side line for the entire half - and over the top to Dario Silva effectively. The speed of both players were catching Australia's defence square, but other than two corners to Recoba, Australia managed to deal with the danger quite comfortably. Recoba's wicked left foot corners looked more ominous, especially with one hitting the post. In contrast to Uruguay's low precentage long ball game, Australia seemed more content to beat players with dribbles and short passing to set up higher percentage scoring chances. However, Uruguay made it difficult with their high pressuring of the ball carrier, which resulted in a constant loss of possession. In hindsight, Australia could have played the long ball game too. Uruguay were obviously afraid to commit too many forward, hence the long balls. You'd have thought Australia would have been the team overly cautious.

Coach Farina claimed awareness of Uruguay's tactics, so it was strange that Australia did not at least try to pressure Uruguay further up-field, or even press up to keep the Uruguayan forwards in check. Though he was covered by Moore and Murphy, Silva soon caused worry in the Australian box after receiving a long ball. Peculiarly, it was a crowd-whistle that he responded to that curtailed the danger. However, on 13 minutes, Uruguay's lynch-pin defender, Montero, with no pressure on him whatsoever, lazily played a ball over the top to Silva again making a diagonal run forward as Australia's Shaun Murphy backed off. Silva took the ball down, sped goal-side of Murphy, held him off, then slotted across Schwarzer into the far corner. The eighty minutes it took to gain the lead in Melbourne was disappointingly undone in less than fifteen minutes in Montevideo. Questions can be asked about Murphy not being more aggressive at getting goal-side of Silva, and also for the covering defence that failed to arrive in time. It is amazing that such a simple move could undo an Australian defence that kept clean-sheets against France, Brazil, Mexico and Scotland. More disconcerting was the space Uruguay were enjoying. With a 0-0 good enough to proceed, a more packed defence, especially in the first 20 minutes or so, was what I was expecting to see. In fact, I started watching the clock right from the kick-off!

Given that Uruguay still had to score again, and that any away goal would count double in this tied-aggregate scenario, Australia were still in the ball game. It just meant that they'd have to score, or rely on the shootout, to proceed. The luxury of grabbing a 0-0 was gone. And if they could score, Uruguay would need two more. That scenario nearly played out instantly as a goal kick fell nicely for Skoko who played a ball wide to Lazaridis, who skipped down the wing. He squeezed his cross in between two defenders whereby it was greeted by a glancing Kewell header that was just saved by goal keeper Carini. Given the angle Kewell headed from, a near post attempt might have been the better option. Still, the far post header needed a great save to stop it. Lazaridis soon broke again and won a corner, which unfortunately was wasted. Kewell was brought down on 23 minutes and had a free kick just go over the bar, whilst at the other end, Reguiero, still camped on the side-line, received a short ball over the top that caught Australia badly square. Whilst Australia appealed for offside (he was actually level), his dangerous close-range low cross was almost knocked into goal by a back tracking Vidmar. Amazingly, Murphy managed a goal-line clearance that saw the the ball go straight into the air and then onto the net which gave Australia its reprieve.

The first yellow card came after 30 minutes when Muscat made a late tackle on Reguiero. Five minutes later, a brisk counter-attack saw Reguiero start a move that saw Magallanes play his ball straight off to a sprinting Silva who got clear of Muscat. His low cross cut behind the charging Recoba and Australian defence to land nicely for Magallanes to shoot. However, Schwarzer read the situation well to charge out, and blocked the shot low. In response, a nice interplay from Australia saw Kewell play Viduka through only for it to be called off-side. Dukes was actually level with the last defender - same as with the earlier Reguiero effort - and Australia's players were naturally up in arms. The Kewell-Viduka combination almost struck again when Kewell's low cross after skipping down the left wing, and making a fool of his marker, resulted in Viduka's shot being blocked by a defender. In hindsight (yes, it really is wonderful), Dukes could have taken a touch and wrong footed his marker, for a clear shot on goal. It was all a bit rushed, which typified most of Australia's forays forward.

Half time could not come quick enough anyway, as Australia needed a tactical re-jig. Their defence lacked the anticipation that hallmarked their first leg and France performances. Long balls and speed of the strikers was creating the most havoc, whilst their lack of conviction in tackling and clearing balls further contributed to Uruguay's early dominance. Uruguay, effectively playing three men up front in Magallanes, Silva and Reguiero, with Recoba just behind, overwhelmed Australia's flat back four with speed and width. It might have been worth even going to a 5-3-2 formation - bringing Okon backs as sweeper - to try and stop the exploitation. Silva's class was obvious, and it just makes you wonder whether the guy was injured at all. Uruguay may just have deliberately held him back home for a first leg that they were always going to play defensively, only to unleash the fresh Silva on the unsuspecting Australians. Reguiero came off the bench in Melbourne, and he may just have been used in similar circumstances.

The big issue for the second half was would Agostino come on with Kewell shifting to the left to provide a bit more potency to Australia's attacks. Despite Uruguay's dominance, Australia still created chances and Lazaridis was playing well. It was no surprise that the team remained the same, especially since, with the aggregate at 1-1, the second half was effectively the start of a whole new ball game. There was also the possibility of extra time to consider too. What Australia needed was a more composed offence - one that was looking for options to stretch Uruguay's defence, if for no other reason than to test their fatigue levels. Compounding their highly draining pressing game of the first half, jet-lag was supposedly going to hinder them also come the second half of the second leg, so it was time to test the theory.

Australia opened far more brightly with Kewell, after just two minutes, breaking from midfield and playing a ball to Viduka on the edge of the penalty box. Unfortunately, he elected to hold the ball up instead of trying to skip ahead to get an attempt on goal. Dukes has had a relatively poor series from what most would have expected, and it seems, his unselfishness is probably the primary concern. Other than the shot that was blocked in the first half, I am hard pressed to even remember him taking another shot with his foot on goal for these qualifiers or the France game. Whether that was the tactic, I don't know. But it became so much of a habit that the greedy goal-scoring instinct forwards should have seemed suppressed.

Other than a Gigiou long shot, the first 25 minutes of the half was all Australia. Skoko had a long shot deflected just past the far post on 53 minutes. But it was from the 57 minute mark onwards when a heavily pressured Kewell could not get enough on a header from Lazaridis that Australia really applied the pressure. In fact, if Kewell had missed the header altogether, Viduka was waiting further on ready to pounce. A golden period between 62 and 65 minutes saw three great chances not rewarded. Okon pounced on a turnover in midfield, passed quickly to Kewell, who skipped past yet another defender. Unfortunately, his cross glided behind a forward running Viduka, who was unable to contact suitably. Then Kewell had his chance to score when he took down a Lazaridis cross about 10 yards in front of goal, but blasted just over the bar. It seemed Kewell accidentally used part of his arm in the take down, but since the referee missed it, the goal would have counted. Okon then launched a long throw that cleared the near post scrimmage to bounce just in front of a predacious Viduka. Unfortunately, he seemed to see the ball late as it bounced unexpectedly high, which resulted in his header going over the bar from just two yards out.

Urgency crept into the Uruguayan bench as they sought to make a substitution. Even the crowd became uneasy as they pelted Schwarzer with missiles. Magallanes came off as lanky Morales came on. Not longer later, Garcia received Uruguay's first yellow as their defending became more desperate. From the free kick, the ball almost landed at the feet off Kewell on the edge of the box. As he to span around, somehow the ball caught his feet and flew just wide of the near post. Just before the 69th minute, the ball then fell at the feet of Skoko, who passed onto Vidmar, from a Uruguayan clearance. However, as he charged forward, his long dribble enabled Uruguay to clear again. But this time, it broke nicely for Recoba and a three on two counter attack. Moore was able to catch Recoba, forced him to check away from goal, to have the situation under control. Emerton then belatedly arrived and kicked out at Recoba, who fell like a sack of bricks and was awarded a free kick. Despite the commentator declaring the late challenge as understandable under the circumstances, in reality, it was not. With Recoba double teamed there was little he could really do. The danger was quelled.

Farina had instructed his team not to commit fouls close to the box, in fear of Recoba's dead ball skills. Fear became terror as Recoba's shot dipped over the wall, glanced off the head of Morales, and despite Schwarzer getting a glove to it, into the net. It was a simply executed free kick as Morales just strolled into the gap and directly in front of Murphy. Morales threw his shirt off and ran a lap of the stadium for it meant Australia now had to score in normal time or face elimination. There would be no extra time. Farina said the game would be decided in the last 20 minutes of the final leg, and it was just unfortunate that Australia could not maintain its discipline to not concede dangerous free kicks.

Uruguay's second goal came against the play, but given the away-goals rule, one goal by Australia would still see them progress. Agostino came on as Lazaridis moved to left-back which allowed Kewell to play on the left wing. However, as Australia pushed forward, Uruguay nearly stole another one, when on 74 minutes, Recoba made a nice run from a throw in to play Garcia through. His shot just inside the edge of the box just went past the far post. Then a few minutes later, Australia's best chance to score came when Agostino (not Murphy, as stated by the commentators) launched a header from a corner that unfortunately went straight towards the goal keeper who just pushed it over. A metre either way and Australia would have scored. The final salvo came when Kewell again skipped past one defender and then somehow nicked a cross in from the by-line with another on his shoulder. The surprise cross fell agonisingly short of a diving Aloisi just three metres out as he tried to launch himself in front of his marker. Amazingly, it really was that close. Normally strikers would antipate such goal scoring chances and make runs to get goal-side of their markers, but Aloisi may just have been surprised of Kewell's brilliance, just like the rest of us.

While the game was at 2-0, just one Australian goal would see them qualify for Korea/Japan, Thank the away-goals rule for that, which would, especially after the Iran game debacle, finally work to our advantage. But all chance was snuffed out when just before 90 minues, Morales headed on a goal kick to Recoba who darted towards goal. With two defenders in check, he still managed to squeeze a ball back to Morales who scored from close range. Moore, who'd actually contested the header originally with Morales, did not even bother chasing back until the last second, which basically summed up Australia's forlorn hopes at the time. Uruguay had already started playing the time-wasting game which only increased for the five minutes of injury time. The referee was helpless under the rules of the game and could only hand out a succession of yellows - three in four minutes, to be exact - in response.

The immediate question after the game was of why Australia did not field Agostino from the start of the second half, let alone the start of the game. The problem with that is that Kewell is basically stuck wide-left for the game - there would be no tactical flexibility in making substitutions and it made him too one dimensional to defend. Playing off-striker gave him the freedom to roam - he often popped up wide on the left anyhow when Lazaridis tracked back to defend. And then there was freedom for the coach to decide how to use him as the game panned out and in reaction to the opposition coach's moves. Essentially, starting with Kewell forward and Lazaridis wide-left allowed Farina to play his cards as the game unfolded.

Dealing with Lazaridis was another factor of the Kewell equation. If you start Kewell wide, Lazaridis does not play. I doubt Farina, or even the fans, wanted that. And Lazaridis' performances over the three games certainly justified his inclusion. Against France, Muscat came off and Lazaridis went to left-back when Aloisi came on. In the first leg, Lazaridis was taken off when Agostino came on. That move seemed to give the team a new lease on life, but that was more to do with the tactical situation of trying to overcome the packed Uruguayan defence than anything. For this and the France games, the team created plenty of chances as is. In fact, they created more near-misses than them in this game - 6 to 3. That excludes their three goals off course, two of which were preventable and the last one inconsequential. It was just the quirks of football that ours did not go in.

The abundance of left sided players has been an issue all along. Imagine if Tiatto had been available? There'd have been even more nightmares regarding who to play where. Regardless of where he played, Kewell's influence was so enormous that he made many of the Uruguayan defenders looked totally second rate. With that sought of flexibility - flexibility that Lazaridis lacks - Farina really had little choice if he wanted Lazaridis on the pitch. Probably the only real solution is to change the formation to a 4-3-2-1, or maybe even a sweeper system of 5-3-2 or 3-5-2. Uruguay played throughout the campaign with varying formations, and certainly a 5-man backline would have helped subdue Uruguay's long ball tactics and speedy strikers. Of course, having a team proficient with different formations needs many more games involving the first eleven during the lead-up, or at least, a protracted World Cup qualifying campaign. There is no time to experiment in one-offs.

Also raised was the more pertinent issue of the team scoring no goals from their forwards in the three games. It can partly be dismissed since they were playing probably the best ever in France, and a great defensive team in Uruguay. Also, Aloisi and Agostino would have scored in against France and Uruguay respectively in Melbourne had they not been dragged down, and Kewell, Agostino and Kewell all missed scoring by only inches in Montevideo. Again, it was just one of those things.

No doubt Uruguay were the better team on the day. But equally, Australia was the better team on the day in Melbourne. Over the two legs, Uruguay's tactical nous, developed from 18 pressure-cooker World Cup qualifiers, helped get it over the line. Given a third game, things might have been different. Australia were dominating the second half of the final game with the tie level at 1-1, so it is difficult to understand why so many have been critical of the team's performance. Talks of being totally out-played, thrashed, and not being good enough, are rubbish. At the press conference, Okon hoped the Australian public were proud of the team's performance, and anyone who is not, is a fool. To be honest, I can't find one area on the pitch to be critical about - they gave their best against an experienced and well-drilled team. Even with some of our team having a slightly "off' day, we should have pinched it.

Then there were those that said we needed to go to Uruguay with more than a one goal lead. Well, if the team could have got 2 goals, or even 10 goals, they would have. The one goal win was as good as they could get, which turned out to be more than ample. Things just did not happen. In fact, we had better overall goal scoring opportunities in Uruguay than in Melbourne. If one had went in, it would have been all over. Defensively was where we succumbed. But they did their best, and if they could have repelled that early onslaught and quelled Silva, they would have. It speaks volumes for the team and the coach that when the tie was there to be won, Australia was the team most likely to do so. With an ounce of luck, we would have.

So why did we fail? Like last time against Iran, it was off the pitch that mistakes were made. Questions have arisen about Farina's future as Australian coach, but really, it's the administrators of the sport in this country and region that should have their futures questioned. Stay tuned for a look to the future and how the off-field mistakes of Iran went ignored this time, which ultimately spelt our doom. Most now realise the qualifying format of play-offs is the problem, but why weren't actions taken three years ago?

Back to the Socceroo Realm

Korea/Japan 2002 Australia's World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Korea/Japan 2002
Australia's World Cup Qualifying Campaign