By Liam FitzGibbon
November 21st 2009 @ 2:18am
Desert New Year on the cards for Socceroos
The Socceroos are set to see in the New Year far from family and friends as coach Pim Verbeek takes them into camp in Dubai.
With Australia’s important Asian Cup qualifier in Kuwait City on January 6 falling on a non-FIFA match date, the squad is likely to comprise mostly A-League players and a handful based overseas.
With that in mind, Verbeek is believed to be keen for an extended camp to give the unfamiliar-looking squad as much time as possible to gel with 10 full days of preparation in the heat of the Middle East.
The squad would be based in Dubai from December 27 before travelling to Kuwait City on January 4, two days prior to the match.
That will make for a unique New Year’s experience in the Muslim country, where there are some restrictions on alcohol consumption, thousands of kilometres away from the parties at home.
However, it is unlikely to be much of a deterrent to a bunch of A-League hopefuls who will get a valuable chance to impress Verbeek ahead of next year’s World Cup in South Africa.
Socceroos regulars Jason Culina, Craig Moore and Mile Sterjovski look certainties to be in the squad while a host of other domestic players are vying for selection including Sydney FC trio Alex Brosque, Mark Bridge and Simon Colosimo, Melbourne’s Archie Thompson and Perth’s Jacob Burns and Chris Coyne.
It is expected Verbeek will also be able to call upon some European-based stars who are not playing regularly for their clubs or have a break in fixtures.
That could include Australian captain Lucas Neill, who is yet to establish himself in Everton’s first team and said after last week’s 2-1 win in Oman he wanted to play against Kuwait.
Asian-based players including Josh Kennedy, Jade North and Mark Milligan are also set to be available with their leagues in off-season.
The Socceroos can virtually wrap up a spot at the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar with a win against Kuwait, who sit atop the qualification group after a 1-1 draw with Indonesia in Jakarta this week.
But teams sit on seven points with Oman three points back.
Australia are due to meet Indonesia in their final qualifier in Brisbane on March 3 while Oman host Kuwait in the final round of matches.
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