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Australian enforcer Vince Grella rates the World Cup qualifying battle with Japan on Wednesday night the latest instalment of the Socceroos’ biggest rivalry in Asia.
Yet again Australia play Japan in a soccer match of high stakes and significance – the Socceroos a perfect three-from-three and two points clear of Japan in their World Cup qualifying group going into the clash in Yokohama.
Victory for the Socceroos will mean near certain qualification for next year’s World Cup finals as one of the top two teams in Group One, a sizeable points gulf between Australia and Japan, and probably the sack for Japanese manager Takeshi Okada.
But defeat for Australia will pull the current group leaders back to the pack, and substantially lift Japan’s hopes of automatic qualification.
Grella was at the centre of the fireworks last time the two sides met – sent off for flattening Japan’s Naohiro Takahara in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup quarter-final loss in 2007 in Hanoi.
Australia upstaged Japan at the World Cup finals the previous year, scoring three times at the death to beat the Blue Samurai as they went on to round of 16 glory in Germany and Japan went home empty-handed.
Not surprisingly, the media hype in Japan surrounding the clash of Asia’s two top-ranked sides is growing – especially as Okada recently declared Japan’s aim was to make the semi-finals of the next World Cup.
Okada, under pressure following a shock Asian Cup qualifier loss to Bahrain last month, has ordered a security blitz to keep would-be Australian spies out of Japan’s training sessions in the lead-up to the match.
“It’s started to become a big game in Asia, and we like that, and I think they like it as well,” Grella said.
“Their journalists are jumping all over us, but we’re up for the game.
“We’ve always had tough games against them. We beat them at the World Cup but lost to them at the Asian Cup. It’s slowly become a heated game, a bit of rivalry there.”
Sixteen of the 22-man Socceroos squad have arrived in Yokohama, with the Australians having their first training session on Monday afternoon ahead of Wednesday night’s match.
It was one of no more than three sessions Australia will hold ahead of the match at the 70,000-capacity Nissan Stadium, raising questions how coach Pim Verbeek will approach the match on a limited preparation.
Lucas Neill, Mark Bresciano and Mile Jedinak will be the final three players into camp late Tuesday morning.
A draw for the Socceroos would be an outstanding result, though Grella wonders if it would satisfy a team looking to stamp themselves Asia’s premier side.
“The Italian half of me would be happy with a draw, but I don’t think it’s in the Australian DNA to accept a draw,” he said.
“But if the final whistle says it’s a draw we’d be happy, going back to Europe with 10 points in our group.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide United’s preparations for their A-League major semi-final second leg have been thrown a curve ball with goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic rushed into the Socceroos squad.
Galekovic will replace back-up goalkeeper Adam Federici, who was injured playing for his English side Reading at the weekend.
He is expected to arrive in Yokohama early on Tuesday, and will be a late arrival back to Australia for United’s second leg against Melbourne Victory at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.
United trail the Victory 2-0 after the first leg defeat in Adelaide last weekend.
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