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Australia's Harry Kewell (left) competes for the ball with Eljero Elia of the Netherlands during the Socceroos v Netherlands soccer match at the Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Oct. 10, 2009. The teams drew 0-0. AAP Image/Paul Miller
It’s been a week since the World Cup draw revealed Australia’s group opponents in South Africa to be Germany, Serbia and Ghana. And with just over six months to go, it is time for the FFA to sit down and organize lead-up matches so the Roos can give the World Cup their best shot.
Indeed, these friendlies and lead-up matches should be organized on the basis of providing the national team with the best opportunity and preparation for the challenges which lie ahead in our group.
Already the FFA has announced the Socceroos will be one of the first teams to arrive in South Africa next year and they’ll be based at altitude to acclimatize to the conditions, as part of their preparations.
Nevertheless, between now and the end of the league season, there is only one FIFA match date (in early March), plus the two Asian Cup qualifiers on non-FIFA dates.
But when the league season ends in mid-May there will be a number of opportunities for warm-up games, similar to the last World Cup when Australia faced Greece, the Netherlands and Liechtenstein.
And these matches will be about the Socceroos honing their skills and preparing for what’s to come in South Africa.
So I took the liberty to get on the phone to the FFA’s Senior Football Media Advisor Rod Allen to ask him about plans for lead-up matches for the World Cup.
First off Allen told me; “Now the coach knows the style of the teams we’re scheduled to play against, he will be looking at potential opponents that would mirror the style of those opponents as lead-up matches.”
But, despite knowing the names of our opponents, we must ask what challenges will Germany, Serbia and Ghana actually present to the Socceroos? What is their style, their strengths and weaknesses? And who could be suitable opponents to replicate that style in lead-up matches?
Typically, the Germans will be strong, organized, efficient and ready to capitalize on errors, while Ghana offer pace and power, with Serbia a technical and well-defenced team. Nations with similar influences from similar regions will probably be the go for the FFA, with Croatia one touted in the press already.
Allen revealed, “There’s many options in mind and we’re talking to quite a large number of teams because they all have different schedules and different needs and requirements. And because the draw only happened last Saturday it’s early days.”
But Allen wouldn’t be drawn into speculation on the identity of those nations.
“We’re not going to go into naming teams who we are dealing with and who we are hoping for until we get those deals over the line, because as you can imagine there’s a fair bit of negotiation involved.”
Allen, though, did acknowledge another MCG send-off match was on the cards, even nominating a likely date for the fixture.
“It’s looking likely to be the case and potentially one date is the 26th (of May) on a Wednesday night at the MCG.
“We haven’t locked in an opponent yet but we are talking to several. So at this stage that is likely to be the farewell game for the Socceroos.”
And following New Zealand’s qualification for the World Cup, there have been a few suggestions in football forums recently of a Trans-Tasman friendly, although Allen was cool on the idea.
“There’s scope for a friendly with any team, but whether New Zealand fits in with the head coach’s plans is up to him. I’m not sure that he’s speaking to New Zealand, but I’m not sure that he’s not. But there’s no firm plans to play them at this stage.”
But for Pim Verbeek there remain many questions about his squad and the best way for him to find answers is by playing football matches against quality opponents similar to those we’ll face in South Africa.
Will Josh Kennedy be effective against taller opponents such as Serbia’s Nemanja Vidic or against the Germans who know his game so well having played there for almost a decade? If not, can Harry Kewell lead a fluent forward-line? Or will our ageing defence be too slow for these types of opponents?
The list goes on.
It is better we face those questions in lead-up matches rather than in the World Cup and that’s what this is all about. For now, it’s down to the FFA to negotiate the right deals with the right nations, whomever that may be.
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