We Blame You Referee!!!

The Soccer Squirrel apologises to all loyal readers for the lack of coverage over the last week. One half of the Soccer Squirrel had indeed packed-up his while the other half found typing game previews and reports by mashing litre steins against his keyboard far too random.

Apologies to all.

So what did you miss out on?

For those of you who rely solely on the Soccer Squirrel for their Socceroos news here it is: the Aussies are out. Italy’s dubious 94th minute penalty in the round of 16 match sealed Australia’s fate and we exited with our heads held high and our blaming fingers pointed squarely at the referees.

In fact, we at the Soccer Squirrel would like to lay the blame for Australia’s exit squarely at the feet of the referees. Referees who we feel have given Australia a very tough time in this tournament. We believe this is not a case of a victim complex on our behalf, but what we call “football reputation-profiling”.

“Australia is overly physical” our opponents would have you believe.

Before the tournament Japan and Holland fed FIFA, the media, and the referees propaganda about our supposedly rough style of play, Brazil played up to it, while Croatia seemed to rely on a series of poor referring decisions to hold Australia to draw. None of this however was as poor as the decision to reward the theatrics of an Italian defender with a 94th minute penalty in a game which Australia had dominated for long periods of time.

The fact that this player took an extra step before deciding to launch himself over Lucas Neil’s body betrays his intention to cheat/

Australia was profiled as an overly physical combatant before the World Cup had even started. Such a reputation has proved to be unfounded as Australia has played honest, clean and attacking football all tournament, yet the damage had been done as referees have fallen to favour the more experienced football nations by giving household names the benefit of the doubt when a decision needs to be made.

The refereeing standard in this World Cup has been widely acknowledged as poor. Over officious referees looking to stamp any physical contact out of the game have altered the face of this World Cup. No wonder the divers – the greatest shamers of the beautiful game- are flourishing.

Australia is not the only victim. The USA received two undeserved red cards against the Italians when the referee had a brain explosion. Ghana has been robbed of its best player, Michael Essien, for the match against Brazil due to tackle that never was- he got to the ball first and there was no foul, let alone a yellow card. Sweden’s Teddy Lucic was sent off for the slightest of shirt pulls due to the theatrics of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, which killed any chance Sweden had of coming back from 2 goals down. These are just some of the incidents that spring immediately to mind.

The Soccer Squirrel’s anger at the referees in this tournament knows no bounds at the moment and it is a miracle that our boys progressed past the group stage given the maltreatment of the Socceroos borne from the blatantly racist football-reputation profiling.

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Apologies again for the lack of recent articles and there may be some more considered comment on this page soon when the Squirrel’s nuts have cooled.

THE SOCCER SQUIRREL WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE OUR WONDERFUL SOCCEROOS- YOU DID US PROUD AND WE LOVE YOU ALL.

Australia vs. Italy World Cup Highlights

Watch the highlights of the Australia vs. Italy World Cup Second Round match. To come so close was heart breaking for every true Australian. We matched the World Cup winners all the way. You did us proud Socceroos. In four years time in South Africa we will not be afraid of any team. We already can't wait. Come on Aussies!

Australia vs. Croatia World Cup Highlights

Watch the highlights of the Australia vs. Croatia World Cup Group F match. What an amazing display by a spirited Socceroo side. Bring on Italy!

Australia vs. Brazil World Cup Highlights

Watch the highlights of the Australia vs. Brazil World Cup Group F match. It could have been so different.

Australia vs. Brazil Preview

Australia doesn’t have to beat Brazil, even if we don’t get a draw, our hopes of progressing from Group F into the second round are very much alive. That is the luxury that the win over Japan has given the Socceroos. We don’t have to chase a result in this match, we can play the game on our terms.

There are four players carrying a yellow card from the Japan match – Craig Moore, Tim Cahill, John Aloisi and Vince Grella. If any of these players were to pick up another yellow they would automatically be suspended from the crucial match against Croatia. Hiddink has the option of protecting these players in order for them to play against Croatia.

However ask any professional sportsman and they will tell you they like to test themselves against the best in the business. Can you imagine Tim Cahill enjoying sitting this game out? World Cups only come around every 4 years and qualifying for one can take 32 years. This is a tournament to live in the moment, play like it’s your last match. Australia should go all out in the game as the world is watching. Beating Japan warranted praise, taking it up to Brazil demands respect.

Australia has played Brazil five times winning once, losing once and coming out equals on three occasions. That’s a pretty handy record against the world’s greatest football nation.

Hiddink will most likely employ his 4-2-3-1 formation. Brazil plays with Ronaldo and Adriano up front and Kaka and Ronaldinho floating around behind them. Moore and Neill will have the task of covering the two Brazilian strikers with Chipperfield and Emerton providing cover. Australia’s two defensive midfielders, Grella and Culina, will aim to occupy the space that Ronaldinho and Kaka love to drift into and setup deadly attacks. Australian cannot give away possession like they did against Japan, as the Brazilians are lethal when they surge forward into the space that has been created.

Australia needs to play to their strengths by playing an energetic and physical game. It was the fitness of the Australian players that made them able to play 4 up forward in the latter stages of the Japan game which led to the 3 goals. If Australia is still with Brazil in the late stages of the game there is every chance of an upset.

Tim Cahill is now 100% and yellow card permitting is certain to start. He should replace Luke Wilkshire who looks out of his league in such a tournament. If Hiddink does decide to rest Moore and Grella expect Skoko and Popovic to be the replacements. This is dangerous though as sending Popovic into action against the Brazilians is like playing Phil Smyth against the Harlem Globetrotters.

Whatever happens though this is what we craved so badly in wanting to reach the World Cup. We’re not here to make up the numbers or be the toys for the big boys to play with. We have to believe we belong on this grand stage with a lead role to play. A spirited display on Sunday will go a long way to earning us this title. Do yourselves proud Socceroos, the world is watching and Australia is dreaming.

Likely team line-up: Schwarzer; Emerton, Neill, Moore, Chipperfield; Grella, Culina; Kewell, Cahill, Bresciano; Viduka.

Our prediction of Australia beating Japan by two goals was spot on and on Sunday we expect Australia to hold Brazil to a draw. Come on Aussies!

Australia vs. Japan World Cup Photos, Kaiserslautern

Some photos from Kaiserslautern (can't seem to order them properly).

Hopefully we can find out where to buy the "I love Guus" T-shirts.

Brazil vs. Croatia, what it means to the Socceroos

Many Australians may have been hoping that World Cup favourites Brazil would hit the back of the net at least twice in last night's game against Croatia, others may have been hoping for the exact result and uninspired display we saw from the masters of the beautiful game.

In their 1-0 victory Brazil never reached top gear. Ronaldo and Adriano were poor and Croatia was unlucky to lose. Only a stunning strike from Kaka and poor finishing from Croatia separated the two sides.

The performance of Brazil and Ronaldo was amusingly described by former striker Tostao, “Brazil were slow and bureaucratic and only improved when Robinho came on for Ronaldo, who was slow and weird.”

“It was a torture to see him like a wobbling heavyweight, staggering around the pitch as if what was going on around had nothing to do with him.”

(Less eloquent commentators like myself have described the Phenomenon as “fat” and his performance as “crap”).

Unfortunately for Australia, Brazil will find top gear in this tournament and with or without an in form Ronaldo, they are still clear favourites to finish top of Group F. Furthermore Ronaldo will now have something to prove, as will his strike partner Adriano.

Let's just hope that they rediscover their touch and form after the Australia game.

Brazil's performance indicated that a disciplined team performance by the Socceroos on Sunday could lead to an upset, or more probably, a draw. Australia have nothing to lose in the game against Brazil, as they are not expected to win, and will therefore play without fear. Nothing they saw last night will particularly frighten them, especially as the Brazilians' quick passing moves often came unstuck with a leaden touch. Brazil showed that they are indeed human.

Croatia on the other hand showed a great deal of promise. They matched their opponents in all departments except for where it mattered, on the scoreboard. They were organised, soaked up pressure and attacked with purpose. Croatia showed that Australia will have to perform at their best to take a point from the Croatians in what will mostly likely be the decisive group game.

On their display against Brazil, Croatia should be expected to defeat Japan, however the Japanese will want to atone for their late collapse against Australia and avoid the embarrassment of facing Brazil with 0 points to their name. A Japanese upset or a draw would provide Australia the greatest chance to go through to the second round.

The jubilation that has accompanied Australia's tremendous win will need to be calmed before the date with Brazil and focus restored in the squad. In my mind Guus would have done this within hours of the victory.

As Monday proved, we should never doubt the genius of Hiddink. “Crazy Guus” will have a completely different set of tactics to employ against Brazil. Australia will of course be more defensive but Harry Kewell should have a bigger role to play - similar to the role he played against Uruguay - receiving the ball deeper and running at the Brazilian defenders. Ninety minutes on Monday will have done him good and hopefully will have restored some confidence in his injury-plagued legs.

Four of Australia’s key players have a yellow card hanging over their heads going into the game against Brazil – defender Craig Moore, midfielders Vince Grella and Tim Cahill and striker John Aloisi. If any of them picks up a yellow card against Brazil they are automatically suspended from the Group F crunch match with Croatia. Some commentators would like to see Hiddink rest at least one of the foursome however this would be bowing down to the masters before a ball has been kicked. Also try telling Tim Cahill that he is being rested against the Brazilians, are you mad?

What was made abundantly clear in the Brazil-Croatia game was that Australia cannot afford to give the ball away cheaply in either of their remaining matches as they sometimes did against Japan (I'm looking at you Brett Emerton).

Come on Aussies!

8 Minutes of Ecstasy for the Socceroos

The Soccer Squirrel’s European correspondent would like to leave the match review at, “un-****ing-believable” but realises he must try harder.

Japan were lucky leaders when a cross from Nakamura dropped into the Australian net despite a clear foul on keeper Mark Schwarzer. The Aussies were understandably livid and the crowd was also. Chants of "bullshit" and even "the referee's a wanker" were unleashed on the misguided Egyptian official.

Without exaggeration, Australia was by far the better team, yet for 83 minutes had nothing to show for their dominance and after Japan opened the scoring the Socceroos were clearly going to be pushing shiitake mushrooms up Mount Fuji.

Then Tim Cahill, whose introduction was accompanied with South Park inspired cries of “Timmy!!!”, drove home the goal which brought the Socceroos on level terms. I couldn't see it through the forest of players but certainly celebrated it as though I hit the sweet side-foot myself.

And then Timmy did it again with a shot that from behind looked like it was swinging wide of the post. Fortunately it ended up in the Japanese net via both posts. All of this in six minutes. We couldn't bloody believe it- cue much hugging of random men and women. Then to top it all off John Aloisi waltzed like matilda through the Japanese defence to ink what had 5 minutes previously been the faintest of hopes.

The Aussie crowd were fantastic. Though at times frustrated with the pace of Australian attacks and the distribution from the back, the crowd kept cheering. Everyone had faith in Guus and the introductions of Cahill, Josh Kennedy and Aloisi were the key to the Aussie success.

What a game, unbelievable to be there. In ten minutes Australia went from early casualty to top of the group (with two goals in goal difference too). It couldn't have been more amazing.

Man of the match - Tim Cahill. Two crucial goals is hard to go past.

Man of the match bridesmaid - Lucas Neill. Once again hard as a rock. Bon Scott would be proud.

A draw with either Brazil or Croatia and Australia should make it through. Oh how life can change in 10 minutes.

Australia vs. Japan World Cup Highlights

Watch the highlights of the Australia vs. Japan World Cup Group F match. It still gives me goose bumps watching the goals.

Stand Up Socceroos...

Can I get a hell yeah? Hell yeah!!!

Josh Kennedy may resemble Jesus however the Australian football team performed one of the best impersonations of Lazarus the world stage has seen.

Australia’s fighting spirit was on show for the entire world to see as we staged a remarkable fight back to record a 3-1 victory over Japan after trailing 1-0 with only 15 minutes remaining. Was that a samba drum that just went quiet?

If we need to ignite football at grass roots level for Australia to blossom then this game was definitely the super seed.

Guus Hiddink’s influence cannot be doubted. This is a man who holds no fear. He is not afraid to throw caution to the wind or is he afraid to tackle a FIFA official out of the way so that he can view a replay of that dubious Japanese goal. Come on who did that FIFA worm think he was trying to out body Guus “I love FOUR ‘N TWENTY” Hiddink?

Hiddink surprised many by leaving Tim Cahill on the bench and starting Luke Wilkshire. Hindsight is a beautiful thing though and Hiddink now looks the genius as Cahill hit two goals in the final fifteen minutes when the heat had sapped the energy out of both teams.

Australia had dominated the match but were trailing by a goal after a dreadful refereeing blunder - with Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer clearly impeded by two Japanese players when trying to claim Shunsuke Nakamura's cross from the right wing.

It didn’t matter though. Hiddink sent on Cahill, Kennedy and John Aloisi and each substitute had a lasting effect on the opening Group F World Cup match. With Kennedy being the cat amongst the pigeons Cahill was able to find enough space to score two of the most satisfying goals this country has celebrated to. Aloisi, the penalty hero against Uruguay, displayed his love for the centre stage by knocking in the third to send Socceroo fans into ecstasy.

A bit of trivia for you. No other team has scored three goals in the last seven minutes in World Cup history. Pretty damn impressive.

Words will never do justice to the feelings felt by all Socceroo supporters as Cahill shot Australia into the lead. However Greg Horgan, the Soccer Squirrel World Cup correspondent, did have this to say after the match, “Un-fucking-believable”.

Australia now faces Brazil on Sunday and Cahill cannot wait. You can only love this man.

"It'll be 11 superstars against 11 ordinary Aussies," Cahill said.

Timmy you forgot to put in the extra. Come on Aussies!!!

Australia vs. Japan: The Time Is Now

On Monday the Socceroos will walk on to the world's greatest sporting stage after an absence of 32 years to take on 2002 co-hosts Japan in the picturesque town of Kaiserslautern.

Kaiser, of course, is German for Emperor. Slautern is German for... er, Slautern (someone tells me it is something to do with a river but that ruins my gag). So to recap, on Monday in Emperors Slautern the Emperor-less Australians take on the Emperor-laden Japan. Is this an ominous sign for Australia or will it be a case of Emperors to the Slautern for Japan?

Player for player the Australian first XI is better than Japan. The majority of Australia's starting players are regular performers in the top European leagues of England, Italy and Holland. Japan boasts only six players from outside the Japanese J-League and while it is a better standard than our own A-League it is not comparable to Europe's top leagues.

It is too early to know whether Harry Kewell will start. Hiddink might employ a similar strategy to the one used against Uruguay - let the Aussies soak up the early pressure before introducing Kewell on the half hour mark. Cahill however is expected to start and his presence will be a massive boost for the Socceroos.

Our weakness is defence and if Neill or Moore sustains an injury during the game, Australians will be sitting even closer to the edge of their seats if the replacement is Tony Popovic. The Japanese will struggle to restrict the imposing Viduka with their lack of height and Josh Kennedy will dominate in the air when he makes a late appearance.

It is no secret that Australia must not concede an early goal - this would leave the team low on confidence and with Mount Fuji to climb. Having waited so long to play in the World Cup there will undoubtedly be nerves in the team. This match may not be the spectacle that many expect in World Cups. Spectacular attacking football doesn't usually feature in the first game played by any team. Most teams are just too scared of conceding, and understandably so.

We are here Australia, our time is now. Failure is not an option. Australia can, and we believe will, defeat Japan on Monday by two clear goals. Come on Aussie, come on!

Likely lineup: Schwarzer; Emerton, Neill, Moore, Chipperfield; Grella, Culina; Bresciano, Cahill, Sterjovski; Viduka.

Simon Ainsworth World Cup Predictions

I know this is Gerry's domain and he will be giving his betting tips in due course however some people have requested my tips on the World Cup.

Please click on the link below to view my tips for the World Cup.

SIMON AINSWORTH'S WORLD CUP PREDICTIONS

Australia 3-1 Liechtenstein: Aloisi Seals Win

Australia ended its World Cup preparations with a stale 3-1 win over European minnows Liechtenstein. The Socceroos came from one goal down to defeat Liechtenstein with two late goals sealing the victory.

Guus Hiddink made six changes to the side which drew with the Netherlands most notably starting Harry Kewell who was substituted after 59 minutes. Mark Viduka, Vince Grella, Marco Bresciano, Jason Culina and Scott Chipperfield were all rested whilst Hiddink replaced Mark Schwarzer with Zeljko Kalac.

Liechtenstein were expected to be easy beats but they took the lead after 8 minutes through an own goal by Lucas Neill. What should have been a straight forward clearance from a free kick, Neill headed straight past the sprawling Kalac into the back of his own net. It could have been worse after a defensive mix-up between the shaky Tony Popovic and Kalac nearly gifted Liechtenstein another.

Mile Sterjovski equalised for the Socceroos in the 19th minute stabbing home a Stan Lazaridis cross. However Australia could not find a way past the tiny nation, which has a population less than Bundaberg, despite numerous chances with Aloisi being the most wasteful.

There were some positives to take out of the game with Harry Kewell putting in an impressive 60 minutes before his replacement Josh Kennedy showed exactly why Hiddink decided to take him to Germany after 15 minutes. The towering Kennedy rose above two defenders to head home a Brett Emerton cross, displaying his aerial prowess which could be Australia’s trump card against Japan in five days time. John Aloisi then sealed the win by heading home a Sterjovski cross in the 83rd minute.

In the final minutes of the match, Hiddink sent on Mark Milligan, as well as training extras Neil Kilkenny and Kristian Sarkies for their international debuts. Kilkenny who could have also chosen to play internationally for England or Ireland is now only eligible to represent Australia after winning his first senior cap.

Coach Hiddink was not concerned his team looked flat just three days after its 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Rotterdam.

"It is normal that we don't play as well as we did over there. There was a bit of a lack of concentration and we cannot afford to make those types of mistakes,'' he said.

The Dutchman felt his players improved in the second half after some tactical alterations.

"Well after that sloppy period in the beginning, we started to build up a little more pace in the second half especially with some changes on the left side and we went somewhat better," he said.

Hiddink was encouraged by Kewell's return from a groin injury but felt the Liverpool star still has room for improvement before the opening match with Japan.

"We planned to play him (for) an hour so he can practice again tomorrow and the day after.

"I hope, bit by bit, he recovers his strength because you need to be fit," Hiddink said.

"He did a rather good job but still has to find another 20 to 30 per cent more strength."

So what can the Australians take from this result against a team that is ranked outside the top 100:

- Mark Schwarzer is the No.1 goalkeeper and will start against Japan;
- Hiddink will revert to his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation against Japan;
- Josh Kennedy and Mile Sterjovski are proving to be very handy options to have in the squad;
- Kennedy could pose some real problems in the air against Japan
- Let’s hope Tony Popovic is an unused substitute in Germany, Ljubo Milicevic should have been in the squad instead; and
- Forgot the result there will be six changes to the team that takes on Japan on Monday, the real starting XI.

Australia line-up: Zeljko Kalac (gk); Lucas Neill, Craig Moore (Michael Beauchamp), Tony Popovic; Brett Emerton, Josip Skoko (Kristian Sarkies), Tim Cahill (Mark Milligan), Stan Lazaridis (Archie Thompson); Mile Sterjovski (Neil Kilkenny), Harry Kewell (Joshua Kennedy); John Aloisi.

Subs not used: Mark Schwarzer (gk).

Australia vs. Holland: A preview of Brazil?

Australia's game against Holland this Sunday is effectively Australia's last competitive warm-up match before before opening their World Cup campaign against Japan on June 12. In between the two matches, Australia will play Liechtenstein (who?) in hopefully a confidence booster for the Socceroos and a chance for Hiddink to cement his preferred starting XI.

Holland is a class team and are tipped by many to dazzle in the tournament (they are equal sixth favourite with Spain and France on most betting websites).

Dutch coach and former striking superstar Marco Van Basten prefers a 4-3-3 formation with an attack led by Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy with Arjen Robben (Chelsea) and Robin Van Persie (Arsenal) supporting him from the wings.

In choosing his World Cup squad Van Basten took the hard line by ending the international careers of veterans Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf leaving Mark van Bommel (Barcelona), Philip Cocu (PSV) and Rafael Van der Vaart (Hamburg) to lead the midfield in Germany. Apart from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, their defence is similarly anonymous with no place for Milan’s veteran Jaap Stam.

Apart from the prolific Van Nistelrooy, the Dutch team is lacking the calibre of players that Aussie Guus led to the World Cup semi-finals in 1998 however they are a talented team with a great deal of potential.

Australia will benefit from playing Holland as they will be exposed to a classy side playing a formation very similar to Brazil. Indeed Australia's defence will need to show in Sunday's game that they can hold off a multi-pronged attack and should they finish the Holland game with a clean sheet (no goals conceded) hopes will be high that they can also thwart Brazil's attacking play in the tournament proper.

Hiddink will most probably stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation and most of his preferred XI. One position that is still up for grabs is the goalkeeper with Hiddink yet to decide on who is his preferred no.1. With Zeljko Kalac playing the whole game against Greece it is expected that Hiddink will hand the gloves back to Mark Schwarzer to keep both keepers vying for the coveted spot right up until the Japan match.

Schwarzer
Emerton - Neil - Moore - Chipperfield
Grella - Culina
Bresciano - Skoko - Sterjovski
Viduka

Against Holland's attacking trio, defensive midfielders Culina and Grella will have huge role to play in front of the back four - one they will have to repeat when we play Brazil.

Expect substitutions from both sides at roughly the 60 minute mark as both coaches endeavour to protect their players from injury. John Aloisi will be keen for a run. Hiddink might also use the game to switch formations to see how the team can adapt to either protect a lead or to chase the game.