The Squad

So Guus Hiddink sent me email. Only me. I don't care whatevery one else reckons. They must have hacked my email and forwarded it to themselves.

The playoff squad is included:

Strikers (4)
Mark Viduka, Luke Wilkshire, John Aloisi, Archie Thompson

Midfield (9)
Marco Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott Chipperfield, Jason Culina, Ahmad Elrich, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Josip Skoko, Harry Kewell

Defense (7)
Stan Lazaridis, Ljubo Milicevic, Lucas Neill, Tony Popovic, Michael Thwaite, Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, Holland), Joel Griffiths (Neuchatel Xamax, Switzerland),

Goalkeepers (3)
Ante Covic, Zeljko Kalac, Mark Schwarzer

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Squad Comments

I doubt this will be the final squad as Lazaridis was injured in last weeks game I believe. However Moore is ommitted which is a damn shame but unavoidable. Covic is merely cover in goals, Schwarzer is a certainty to start unless injured. Notice Vidmar is playing in Holland. This explains why Guus is confident in his ability, however he might be alone in that confidence. You won't find Vidmar speeding in a parking lot :\ Harry Kewell is starting for Liverpool hooray! Lucky for him and Australia Liverpool suck so much atm ;) So he may be in contention for a starting spot, and my earlier prediction that he will be the one saved for the home leg is now doubtful.

Game Tactics

Guus has fashioned a flexible team in very little time. I think next season I will have to make sure I have a few theory and tactical sessions early in the season. Key to the Dutch system is that players understand their particular roles fully, and all the comments out of the camp indicate that this is the case. Australian commentators on PSV's 0-0 draw away to Milan suggested this will be Australia's focus in Uruguay. That is plain wrong. PSV is not Australia, and Guus will use neither team to experiment for the others - thats just dum.

He will set his stall out to get a slender victory but the focus will be maintaining posession and playing with a spare defender. This means starting with a 3-5-2 probably, with a focus on ball winning midfielders and strikers who can hold possession. That means Mark Viduka and Aloisi up front, engine men Emmerton, Chipperfield and Cahill in the center, and hard men Grella, Skoko or Thwaite breaking up play and shielding the back line. In defence I have heard that Lazaridis or Chipperfield may be included in the back line, I doubt both of these options. Whether Neill will play in center defence ahead of Ljubo is unknown too, however Popovic is probably first choice on the left of these back 3.

At home, will depend on our away result. An away win could potentially work against us. Imagine a 2-1 away win. That would give Aus a commanding lead, and we might take our foot off the pedal like against Iran and try and hold what we've got. Otherwise, and more likely, the tie will need to be won at home, and we won't have been *sexually assaulted without consent* in Montevideo. Direct play and goals will be the order of the day. Thompson upfront in a 3 prong attack, Kewell...somewhere on the grass! And playmaker Bresciano in the center. Culina I still think is Guus' go-to man and is liable to play anywhere and everywhere over the course of the two legs!

Supporters Website
check it out - here - didn't work for me, but I think thats cause uni computers suck