By AAP
November 15th 2009 @ 12:35am
Neill optimistic about improved World Cup
Having closed the chapter on a successful 2009, the Socceroos can look forward to 2010 and their second successive World Cup with some optimism according to captain Lucas Neill.
The Everton defender featured in Australia’s final hit out of the calendar year at Oman and believes he and his team-mates are capable of achieving success in South Africa.
“The team is confident because the results have been good, the performances have been good, but, as a team we can always be better,” said Neill before Saturday night’s game.
“The year has been a very successful year because we qualified for the World Cup, we qualified with a lot of clean sheets and a lot of good performances away from home.
“The more chances we get to get together, the better we’ll become and with the quality that is at the World Cup we know it’s going to be very, very tough.
“We will find out this weekend the last 32 teams and we want to be as good if not better than the rest of them.”
Australia’s defence, led by Neill, will be crucial to the Socceroos’ chances of success in South Africa.
Indeed, with eight clean sheets from their eleven most recent outings before the Oman match, it’s hard to argue that Australia’s strength comes from their defensive steel.
With Neill having sorted his club future at Everton and coach Pim Verbeek seemingly set on the remainder of his back four, Australia’s back line resolve should only grow stronger between now and next June.
“When the others go off and do certain training, the defence always goes to one side and tweaks and works on various situations that might come up in games and a lot of analysation on video,” said Neill.
“We’re fully prepared, that’s probably been the key to our success the past two or three years, it’s probably the amount of preparation we’ve had and being able to go into those games knowing what to expect and never being surprised.”
Neill is one of perhaps a dozen automatic selections for South Africa, though the argument regarding which players will make up the remainder of Australia’s contingent will be hotly debated by pundits and fiercely contested by players in the coming months.
Nearly fifty players wore Australia’s green and gold at senior level throughout 2009 and dozens more were included in squads, meaning a significant number of World Cup hopefuls will miss out on next year’s showpiece in South Africa.
Those unenviable decisions will be made by Verbeek, who echoed Neill’s review of his second year in charge of the Socceroos.
“I think we had a very successful year,” said Verbeek.
“Of course we have to improve because the World Cup is the biggest tournament in the world with the best teams in the world, so we have to be on our best also.”
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