Socceroos v All Whites: Live analysis
Columnist By Tony Tannous, 24 May 2010 Tony Tannous is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- 2010 World Cup, football, MCG, new zealand all whites, Pim Verbeek, Socceroos
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Socceroos' Craig Moore, right, and teammate Tommy Oar model the new team jerseys in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Team officials say the new uniforms are the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced in soccer's history. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
The Socceroos face the New Zealand All Whites at the MCG tonight in their farewell match at home before heading to South Africa for their second consecutive World Cup. Join Tony Tannous here from 7:30pm EST for a live analysis of the match.
The match is the last opportunity for Socceroos players to impress Pim Verbeek, who will trim the squad by cutting eight players from the current 31-man squad before they jet off to South Africa.
But this game will be more than just a friendly exercise with trans-Tasman pride at stake against our biggest sporting rivals.
Part celebration to commemorate the qualification of both New Zealand and Australia to the same World Cup finals in history, the match will also boast a large number of players from the A-League.
Key questions to be answered are:
- Which players will impress and book their ticket to South Africa?
- Will there be angst between the two teams?
- And how many fans will turn up to the ‘G’ to farewell the Socceroos?
Join Tony Tannous from 7:30pm EST and comment as the game unfolds. Have an iPhone? Follow the blog and post directly from The Roar’s iPhone app.
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- Explore:
- 2010 World Cup, football, MCG, new zealand all whites, Pim Verbeek, Socceroos
May 24th 2010 @ 11:19am
Australian Football said | May 24th 2010 @ 11:19am | Report comment
- Which players will impress and book their ticket to South Africa?
AF: This Nicky Carles last chance to show Pim what he can do.. But will Pimbo be able to see his real worth..
- Will there be angst between the two teams?
AF: Hopefully both teams will see the bigger picture (WC) and not go in with reckless tackles to prove a point..
- And how many fans will turn up to the ‘G’ to farewell the Socceroos?
AF: I read that 45k tickets have been sold—so maybe a turn-out of 55k is likely.
______
AF
May 24th 2010 @ 1:54pm
Kuri said | May 24th 2010 @ 1:54pm | Report comment
Pretty good crowd considering many here at the roar were adamant that they would struggle to get 20k to the game.
Also nice to see that Pim, Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill also think a annual TT clash is well worth persuing.
So NZ may not be on the same level as we like to think we are but at least they are competitive and would put up much stronger opposition than many of the Asian nations as it stands they have proved they are better than the fifth best Asian team
May 24th 2010 @ 4:42pm
DaMan3000 said | May 24th 2010 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
NZ are going to the same World Cup Australia are, they beat the same Bahrain Australia beat… I’m taking this seriously!
NEW ZEEEEEEEAAAAAAAALAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!
Leo Bertos FTW(ner)
May 24th 2010 @ 9:53pm
zach said | May 24th 2010 @ 9:53pm | Report comment
Australia’s last chance to farewell the Socceroos before the World Cup saw the MCG a little over half full.
Maybe the AFL should have let them have Etihad for the bid – and kept the MCG, considering the respective crowds at tonight’s match and Friday’s Geelong Collingwood game.
May 24th 2010 @ 1:44pm
manny said | May 24th 2010 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
Cmon Australia!
May 24th 2010 @ 4:40pm
Michael said | May 24th 2010 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
This will be very tight game … could go either way… love to bet but not a gambler….
May 24th 2010 @ 4:58pm
Alders said | May 24th 2010 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
As compared to the blow outs we usually see in football.
May 24th 2010 @ 5:33pm
Kento said | May 24th 2010 @ 5:33pm | Report comment
Not a traditional football fan, but looking forward to watching the match as a warm-up for the World Cup!
May 24th 2010 @ 5:53pm
Vinay Verma said | May 24th 2010 @ 5:53pm | Report comment
Tony, I would like the Socceroos to play an attacking game with at least two strikers up front. We are in the World Cup and this is glory or bust. To get into an attacking mindframe takes practice. And tonights game is an opportunity to make a statement.
I do not think it is the Australian way to be conservative. Australia have a tough group but there is no reason why they should be intimidated by Germany or Ghana or Siberia. They should not be looking to draw any game. I would like to see the players and Pim make a pact to play attacking football. Not kamikaze stuff but attacking and with aggressive intent. Anything is possible with the right attitude.
May 24th 2010 @ 7:14pm
Tony Tannous said | May 24th 2010 @ 7:14pm | Report comment
7.20pm; Good evening and welcome to The Roar’s live running analysis of the Socceroos vs New Zealand World Cup warm-up game at the MCG.
The one thing that is clear four year on from the Socceroos first World Cup appearance in 32 years is that the buzz, excitement and expectation this time around isn’t quite where it was in the build up to Germany.
Take Sydney’s Daily Telegraph this morning. The first nine pages of the sports section were dedicated to Rugby League, with the next three pages dedicated to Football. Of these, the first was dedicated to tonight’s game, then a page dedicated to the Champions League final, and then a whole page dedicated to Blackpool’s promotion to the EPL.
In other words, Blackpool’s promotion was given equal space to tonight’s game, if only a couple of pages back.
As for its sister paper in the host city, The Herald Sun, while Tim Cahill was featured on the front page, the sports section featured some 13 pages of AFL, with two pages on tonight’s game interspersed.
Meanwhile, for the broadcaster, Fox Sports, the build up to the game has been as much about the launch of its 3D platform.
Expectations are for a crowd around the 50,000 mark, perhaps another indicator that football crowds are sick of exorbitant ticket prices. Or it may even be an indicator that expectations that the Socceroos can get out of a group also featuring Germany, Ghana and Serbia are down.
The same fixture, four years ago, against then European Champions Greece, drew over 90,000 fans to the MCG. The mood and atmosphere were incredible, the winning goal from Josip Skoko a cracker. Even if the game wasn’t exactly grand, it was indeed a grand night, a fitting send off.
This time it’s a clash against trans-Tasman rival New Zealand, who have qualified for their first finals in 28 years.
And while the Socceroos have had the edge over the All-Whites in more recent times, that wasn’t always the case. Certainly, in the 80s and 90s, there was a serious rivalry, and the father of current striker Rory Fallon, who inflamed some debate with his comments last week, was right at the centre of the spite, as Ray Gatt’s wrote about this morning.
There’s little doubt the All-Whites will be up for this one, keen to not only build combination ahead their opener against Slovakia, but keen to gain confidence by taking the scalp of a team ranked above them.
With skipper Ryan Nelsen on board, I sense the Kiwis will be a tough nut to cracker. Certainly a lot more resilient than they were at last year’s Confederations Cup, when Nelsen was missing. I’m tipping a tight one.
For the Socceroos, the feeling isn’t quite where it was four years ago, when the team was clearly on the rise, ready to “show itself” to the world, to borrow a Pim Verbeek phrase.
But for all the debate about the manager’s tactics and his selections, how many fans will turn out, the quality of the opposition, the possibility of injuries, the fact remains that tonight is an extremely valuable hit-out, for a number of reasons;
1. For players like Craig Moore, David Carney, Jason Culina and Mark Bresciano, who have barely kicked a ball in recent times, it provides a great opportunity to get some mileage in the legs, and gives the coaching staff an opportunity to gauge their physical and mental status.
2. It gives Verbeek and Tony Franken an opportunity to assess Adam Federici’s claims to be Mark Schwarzer’s back-up.
3. For other fringe players like Scott McDonald, Nikita Rukavytsya, Nick Carle, Carl Valeri, Mile Jedinak, Tommy Oar, Dario Vidosic, Mark Miligan, Jade North, Shane Lowry, Michael Beauchamp, any game-time tonight will be a golden opportunity to show Verbeek they can produce.
4. Can the Socceroos control a game and consistently create chances, and what is the finishing like? Are we still too heavily reliant on Tim Cahill for goals and goal chances?
While there was a bit of noise on the weekend about the supposed good form of Oar at training, my mail, from a source who’s football opinions I value, is that the following were training the house down; Rukavytsya, Carle, Jedinak, Valeri and Culina.
Rukavytsya and Carle, especially, were said to be combining beautifully.
May 24th 2010 @ 7:16pm
Tony Tannous said | May 24th 2010 @ 7:16pm | Report comment
7.25pm; The all important team news is in and we know the way both Verbeek and Herbert are lining up.
Let’s start with the Socceroos, who will be shaping up in Pim’s preferred 4-2-3-1.
Federici; Milligan, Moore, Neill, Carney; Culina, Grella; Vidosic, Cahill, Bresciano; McDonald.
And NZ will be shaping up in 3-4-3.
Paston; Sigmund, Nelsen, Vicelich; Bertos, Elliott, Brown, Lochhead; Smeltz, Fallon, Killen
May 24th 2010 @ 7:19pm
Tony Tannous said | May 24th 2010 @ 7:19pm | Report comment
7.27pm; The most interesting selections for the Socceroos are those of Milligan at right back (Wilkshire gets a rest), Vidosic at right midfield and McDonald up front. It’s a massive opportunity for all of them, especially for Vidosic and McDonald to influence the front third.
May 24th 2010 @ 7:22pm
Tony Tannous said | May 24th 2010 @ 7:22pm | Report comment
7.30pm; It’s also a massive opportunity for Federici in goals, and the word is he will get 45mins, with Jones coming on in the second half.
May 24th 2010 @ 7:23pm
Tony Tannous said | May 24th 2010 @ 7:23pm | Report comment
Kick-off