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.
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.
posted by The Soccer Squirrel at 10:27 am
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