Australia ventures into the unknown
\nin tsunami game against Indonesia<\/p>\n
Trevor Robb
\nAgence France-Presse\/Perth, Australia<\/p>\n
Australia will be venturing into the great unknown when it
\ntackles neighbor Indonesia in a one-off soccer match here on
\nTuesday to raise money for victims of the tsunami disaster.<\/p>\n
Australia coach Frank Farina conceded they knew little about
\ntheir Asian neighbor.<\/p>\n
\"We've seen some videos of games they played recently but it's
\ndifficult to get a lot of coverage of them,\" Farina said of the
\nteam ranked 92 in the world.<\/p>\n
\"I expect them to be well-disciplined, well organized --
\ndefensively especially.\"<\/p>\n
Australia, ranked 58, and Indonesia have met on 12 occasions,
\nwith the former losing just once, but there is no doubt they need
\nto learn a lot more about the strengths of their rival Asian
\nnations -- and quickly.<\/p>\n
Last week the Asian Football Confederation voted unanimously
\nto invite Australia to join them rather than compete in the
\nOceania Confederation for a berth in the World Cup finals.<\/p>\n
The move means that after the 2006 World Cup in Germany,
\nAustralia, which previously had to win the Oceania group then
\nface a two-leg play-off against the fifth-placed South American
\nnation, will compete for direct entry to the World Cup against
\nother Asian countries.<\/p>\n
They defeated one of them, Iraq, 2-1 in a friendly match in
\nSydney on Saturday but that performance did not impress Farina,
\nnor his players who conceded the team had been flat and
\nlethargic.<\/p>\n
Most of the Australians play professionally in Europe and
\nFarina said distances, fatigue and time all worked against them
\nwhen they come home for internationals.<\/p>\n
Players such as Everton's Tim Cahill were all under pressure
\nfrom their clubs to return as soon as possible, Farina said.<\/p>\n
\"In the ideal world you'd like to have a lot more time with
\nthem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The reality is they have to play for their clubs on the
\nweekend and get out on a long-haul trip to Australia.<\/p>\n
\"I won't just talk about Tim. I'd say 12 to 14 of the players
\nin the squad had enormous pressure put on them... to try and get
\nback early.\"<\/p>\n
But he said the Australians could improve by 60 to 70 percent
\non their performance against Iraq and were still winning despite
\nthe difficulties.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't lost in 10 games... the team is traveling well,\"
\nhe said. \"We're in a healthy state at the moment.\"<\/p>\n
Defender Lucas Neill also conceded the team did not play well
\nagainst Iraq because it was difficult for them to come from the
\nhigh-pressure atmosphere of top-flight European soccer.<\/p>\n
\"We woke ourselves up with a few things,\" the Blackburn player
\nsaid of the match against Iraq. \"We got a bit complacent.\"<\/p>\n
Neill said players just hoped the could get through the game
\nunscathed but playing for Australia was a good motivation
\nregardless of the occasion.<\/p>\n
Farina said he had not finalized a starting line-up but would
\nput out his strongest team for the match which will be played at
\nPerth's Subiaco Oval.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australia-ventures-into-the-unknown-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}