The entire A-League has been handed a weekend's recess to allow the national team to concentrate on their World Cup qualifying visit to Uzbekistan on September 10, but it turns out only one side will actually be affected by national team coach Pim Verbeek's call-ups. After finally being convinced to elongate the regular season to allow byes over FIFA-recognised match dates, Australian football authorities must now wonder why they bothered. Indeed Gary van Egmond of the Newcastle Jets, the reigning A-League champions, will be the only coach pleased with how the build-up to the Socceroos' qualifier in Tashkent has played out. In goalkeeper Ante Covic and defender Jade North, Newcastle provided the only two local league representatives in Verbeek's extended 27-man squad. The seven remaining sides were unaffected. North, Newcastle's championship-winning captain, missed the recent friendly against South Africa in London because he was on duty as one of Graham Arnold's three overage players at the Olympics. Covic, meanwhile, has been a regular backup for first choice No.1 Mark Schwarzer under Verbeek, although also missed the South African clash at Loftus Road. Verbeek overlooked Melbourne's Archie Thompson, most probably because of the ankle injury he returned from the Olympic Games carrying. Thompson hasn't played in either one of the A-League's opening rounds during August. Norway-based left-sided defender Shane Stefanutto won a recall but there was no place for Nicky Carle, the former Newcastle attacking midfielder who joined Crystal Palace from Bristol City during the northern summer. Uncontracted Mark Milligan, the former Sydney FC midfielder, was also included. Verbeek made it clear in a teleconference to Australian reporters on Wednesday night that he was preparing for the Tashkent tussle with his eyes wide open. "Everyone is focusing on Japan as the big team in the group but I know Uzbekistan from before [when he was the South Korea national coach]. They were the first team to qualify for this round, so there is no reason to underestimate them," said the Dutchman. Australia have scheduled a warm-up game against Holland after receiving a bye on match day one. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, face Qatar in Doha first up. Verbeek feels the Uzbek challenge will be as close to playing a European side as Australia will find in the AFC. Despite earlier comments from senior players about their worrying lack of knowledge about the central Asians, the Socceroos coach calmed nerves by assuring he'd watched DVDs of their opponents on a number of occasions. "For me there is not a big surprise," he said. "They play a Russian style of football - physically strong, skilful with good organisation and the fans will be very fanatic. "It is an interesting challenge. It can help qualification if we can get a good result over there (but) it won't be easy." In local news, Football Federation Australia have confirmed two new sides will expand the league to 10 teams from the 2009/10 season. Gold Coast United and North Queensland FC will now have a year to ensure they've the resources to compete with the eight established clubs. "Expansion of the A-League is a critical issue to the continuing evolution and growth of football and this is a very exciting day for the FFA, everyone involved in the A-League, Gold Coast United and North Queensland,” said FFA boss Ben Buckley The A-League will continue plans to grow the competition to a 12-team competition in 2010/11. Fourteen teams is considered the saturation point. Australia's 27-man squad Michael Beauchamp (Aalborg), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Jacob Burns (Unirea Valahorum), David Carney (Sheffield United), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel), Chris Coyne (Colchester United), Ante Covic (Newcastle Jets), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven), Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers), Richard Garcia (Hull City), Vince Grella (Blackburn Rovers), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough), Josh Kennedy (Karlsruher), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Mark Milligan (uncontracted), Lucas Neill (West Ham), Jade North (Newcastle Jets) Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Matthew Spiranovic (FC Nurnberg), Shane Stefanutto (Lyn Oslo), Mile Sterjovski (Derby County), Carl Valeri (Grosseto), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow) Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Australian Soccer News Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Pim Verbeek's Australia have made it through to their toughest qualifying campaign since joining the Asian confederation - and with a match to spare at that. But a flattering points total wasn’t enough to paper over the cracks of some suspect selections by the new national coach. It's perhaps not so much Verbeek's first choice side which is suspect. When the canny Dutchman has Australia's full armoury at his disposal you would tip the Socceroos to be among the World Cup qualifying places at the end of a marathon AFC campaign. It's more the ongoing and lingering doubts over the identity of the country's best backup XI. Mind you, Verbeek's defensive tactics have taken a bit of a bashing too in Australia (he tended to use a pair of holding midfielders in the away games against Iraq and Qatar with just a lone striker upfront), a ploy which stifled any creativity fostered from Harry Kewell's busy performances. But considering the Socceroos booked their passage into the final 10 with a 3-1 win in Doha - albeit from a Brett Emerton brace from right wing-back - few are bothering to overly quibble. Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill were also standout absentees from Verbeek's strongest side while Josh Kennedy was also missing. It would be grossly unfair for any debate on the merits of Verbeek's management to skate over those high profile losses. They should all return for when the qualifiers restart in September - but as always there aren’t any guarantees, particularly in the case of Viduka. It's not, however, in attack where Verbeek's biggest headache thumps. Consider that after an inglorious defensive display in the first of four June qualifiers, Verbeek dragged virtual unknown Chris Coyne into the team and you start to get a snapshot of the coach's concerns. Neill was missing, certainly, and his absence internationally, despite not even being the best centre-half at club side West Ham United, causes a degree of havoc at the back. But the backup partnership of Michael Beauchamp and Jade North was so all at sea against Iraq in Brisbane, Mark Schwarzer spent the entire game bailing them out of trouble. Coyne, from England League One side Colchester United, received deserved plaudits for his stabilising influence when he debuted in the Middle East and could make a name for himself if he kicks on with similar performances later in the year. Meanwhile, teenager Matthew Spiranovic is generally accepted to be the next in line for a regular call-up after making his Socceroos bow in the dead rubber against the Chinese. But there's not a great deal of depth below him. Question marks have also been raised about the full-backs. Emerton and David Carney are politely termed attack-minded. They basically cannot defend. Recent Derby County signing Ruben Zadkovich replaced Emerton against China and froze. Nikolai Topor-Stanley looks to have a Socceroos future on the left and is surely the next A-League star to follow Adelaide pair Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite to Europe. Topor-Stanley - nicknamed Hyphen by the Perth Glory faithful - looks to have all the makings of a long-term national team player. But again - considering Zadkovich and Topor-Stanley are Graham Arnold's full-backs at the under-23s level - who else is coming through? Melbourne's Rodrigo Vargas is overrated while new team-mate Michael Thwaite will this season attempt to reawaken his own Socceroos aspirations after floating around the third tier of European leagues without success. Patrick Kisnorbo, like Coyne, will play League One football in the forthcoming English season after suffering relegation with Leicester City. Scott Chipperfield's international days look numbered while World Cup 2006 defender Mark Milligan is still on the lookout for a club after thumbing his nose at the offer of an extension with Sydney FC. Trials with Arsenal and Manchester City have so far yielded no permanent deal. Verbeek accepted after Super June he rode his luck and knew it would come to an end soon. Friday he will discover if a top heavy squad are talented enough to squeeze past the cream of the AFC. South Korea, Japan, Bahrain, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates will all join Australia in Friday's draw in Kuala Lumpur. Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Australian Soccer News Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs

It might be the worry of becoming a dad for the first time, but West Ham and Australia captain Lucas Neill didn't look quite himself against Manchester United over the weekend. Neill, who became public enemy number one at Old Trafford after his involvement in the first-half dismissal of United's Portuguese winger Nani, gifted the English champions their opener in a 4-1 romp Saturday lunchtime. He slipped over to hand Cristiano Ronaldo his first, then was nowhere near when the recently-crowned player-of-the-year glanced home his second. In the second-half, Neill deflected Michael Carrick's effort past goalkeeper Robert Green. Not a good afternoon's work for the man who probably has plenty of non-football related thoughts circling his mind at the moment. Neill's long-term partner Lindsey Morris is expecting twins next month, an arrival which has already played a part in throwing into chaos Pim Verbeek's Socceroos preparations for a quartet of testing June World Cup qualifiers. Verbeek revealed last week that he remains unsure of his skipper's availability for the home clashes with Iraq, in Brisbane, and China, in Sydney, plus the trips to Doha and Dubai, where the team will play the defending Asian Cup champions. It is expected Neill will demand a release from Australia's squad to return to the UK at some point during June. Making matters worse for Verbeek, who's steadily coming accept the Socceroos job for the challenging position it's become, is that incredibly Neill is one of four players with babies imminent. Derby County recruit Mile Sterjovski, Bundesliga-based striker Josh Kennedy and fringe midfielder Jacob Burns also all have partners due to give birth next month. Kennedy's absence would be another hammer blow for the diplomatic Verbeek. With Mark Viduka ruling himself out of international action this summer because of an Achilles niggle which may need an operation at the season's end, the little and large paring of Kennedy and Scott McDonald is the Dutchman's first choice striking partnership. A-League possibles John Aloisi, Archie Thompson and the rapidly-improving Bruce Djite are all under an injury cloud with Everton's attack-minded midfielder Tim Cahill another definitely sidelined after foot surgery. That leaves Verbeek staring down the most important month for the Socceroos since the World Cup two years ago without anything close to his preferred front two in place. McDonald, who wasn't even a part of Graham Arnold's Asian Cup odyssey this time last year, has suddenly found himself catapulted into the nation's consciousness because of a prolific season with Celtic. The Scottish Premier League player-of-the-year nominee has exceeded all expectations since his summer move from Motherwell and scored his 30th goal of the season against his former club over the weekend. However, with the Scottish champions-elect not finishing their campaign until May 18, McDonald looks like being precluded from Australia's May 23 warm-up match against Ghana in Sydney. Kennedy, of Karlsruher, is also still in domestic action the same day to Verbeek's dismay. Who benefits from all this toing and froing is anyone's guess. Verbeek hinted at a reprieve for Joel Griffiths after the outspoken striker peeved Socceroos coaching staff with a swipe at February opponent Qatar and was subsequently axed for the March qualifier in China. Griffiths, the reigning A-League player-of-the-year, is keeping his match sharpness through a loan spell at J-League side Avispa Fukuoka and Verbeek made a point of flying to watch him in action against Shonan Bellmare on Saturday. But it proved to be a wasted trip as the 28-year-old didn't feature - he wasn't even named on the bench - as his side slipped to a 4-0 defeat. Nimble-footed Nathan Burns is another candidate, albeit an entirely different proposition from either Viduka or Kennedy. Burns, 19, has been courting a great deal of attention from European clubs and has the added bonus of being match fit from playing fortnightly in the AFC Champions League for Adelaide United. He is considered the player most likely to be next exported to Europe, particularly with an Olympics to compete in, but might get his chance earlier than anticipated. Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Australian Soccer News

Australia coach Pim Verbeek will have received cold comfort from watching his hotchpotch Socceroos flail and flounder in Singapore. In a night of numbers in the humid and damp island nation, two would have jumped out at Verbeek: 0-0. Not exactly what the doctor ordered for a match primarily designed to prepare the national side for the gruelling World Cup qualifying clash with China at 1900m Kunming in thee days time. There's been much conjecture over why lowly Singapore was picked as the venue and opponent for this crucial warm-up. But one thought must have been the sterility of resistance the 131st-ranked FIFA nation might present. As it turned out, the Socceroos were befuddled as much by the awful conditions and their own naivety as the collection of naturalised foreigners fielded by Raddy Avramovic in a drab goalless draw. Confusion abounds for those tracing the comings and goings of Australia these days. Last week Verbeek selected two national team squads. The squad to face Singapore was drip fed into the media in small chunks. First the main party, drawn entirely from the A-League. Then the A-League additions and withdrawals. Then the overseas-based call-ups. Fine Over the same period, the squad to face the sterner test in China was released. Only three players from the Singapore 'warm-up' squad were included. FFA officials noted that more players could be added depending on which of the Euroroos withdrew in the meantime. Following? Probably not. But the bottom line is that virtually none of the squad which traipsed around Singapore's national stadium against a low class opponent on a park pitch full of puddles will be involved in Kunming. And even if they were what bearing does playing at sea level in 30C heat have on playing at altitude later the same week? One of those that might get a look in Harry Kewell. The soon-to-depart Liverpool winger wasn't needed for February's home win over Qatar but might get the nod on Wednesday. In Singapore, Kewell was the prefect in Verbeek's team of Year 7s. He was named captain of a starting Socceroos side which welcomed six debutants, the biggest influx of national team newcomers for almost two decades. Incredibly, Verbeek blooded nine rookies during the match while Adelaide's Nathan Burns won just his second cap as a half-time substitute. James Troisi, of Newcastle United, played despite not yet making his English Premier League bow, Mark Bridge, who'll line up for Sydney FC next season, started upfront while Nikolai Topor-Stanley backed up his claims with a polished performance at left-back. James Holland capped a frankly ridiculous rise with a start in right midfield. The highly-motivated teen has made just 10 A-League appearances for Newcastle, the recently crowned Australian champions, and was earlier this month only called up by the under-23s for the first time. Former under-20 international Mile Jedinak, a slender midfielder in the Michael Carrick mould and the Central Coast Mariners player-of-the-year, also played. Despite becoming a regular for his club over the past 12 months, the 23-year-old wasn't even involved in Verbeek's round of local training camps in January. Finally, there's the curious affair of the Griffiths brothers. Verbeek could find no place in either squad for the league's best player Joel, simply claiming he had better options in that position. But the Dutchman did hand a first Socceroos start to twin Adam at right-back. Younger brother Ryan was also surprisingly recalled despite a lengthy period out of the game because of a heart condition. Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Australian Soccer News Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

It was a satisfactory six days for new South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo in the sprawling city of Chongqing. South Korea lifted the East Asian Championship trophy for the second time in three occasions. The opening day dramatic 3-2 victory over China was followed by 1-1 draws with North Korea on Wednesday and then Japan on Saturday. The trophy is not a big deal but the performances of a young and inexperienced team have been encouraging. There is still much work to do but a number of players have emerged from the haze of the polluted megapolis with reputations and confidence enhanced. Former Korea, and current Australia, coach Pim Verbeek was at the tournament to check out China. The Socceroos will be in the Middle Kingdom in March for a 2010 World Cup qualifier. The Dutchman was keeping quiet on the Chinese but was happy to see some familiar, and some not so familiar, Korean faces in action. "It was good to watch Korea again and it was good to see them win,” he told me. "I was quite impressed against China - I thought that they did a good job and played well." "There were lots of young players in the team. I am happy that Park Chu-young is fit and he scored two great goals. The first goal, he showed fantastic timing to head the ball into the net...hopefully he will be fit now for a whole season." That is unlikely. The striker has already been ruled out of FC Seoul's season opener on March 9 and will play no part in the game with LA Galaxy and David Beckham on March 1. As well as Park, Yeom Ki-hoon, who was handed his national team debut by Verbeek, showed his versatility in attack. The Ulsan forward scored the goals against North Korea and Japan and is starting to look like he may fulfill his undoubted potential. There is potential in the team that lifted the oversize trophy last Saturday but some of them are not yet, and perhaps never will be, good enough for international football. That is the whole point of these kinds of games however; it’s a time for testing and trying. March’s World Cup qualification game in Pyongyang will feature a very different line-up. There is virtually a completely new starting eleven that Huh could call on. English-based stars such as Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon will be certainties for the game. With that match due to played out in front of over 100,000 fans in the North Korean capital, Huh may go for experience. Other 2006 World Cup stars are also likely to be recalled - Lee Chun-soo of Dutch giants Feyenoord, Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho of Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg and Kim Do-heon of West Bromich Albion. Cho Jae-jin is another likely recall. The powerful striker ended his three-year stint in Japan last December and since then has spent much time in England trying to do deals with three English Premier League clubs, in order, Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Fulham. All came to naught and last week the powerful striker joined Jeonju team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ahead of the new season that kicks off on March 8. After three seasons and dozens of goals in Japan, Cho needs to show that he can score goals on the Korean peninsula. He struggled to do so in his first spell in the K-League prior to 2004 but a goal or two in Pyongyang at the end of March, wouldn’t go amiss. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek didn't quite measure up to his illustrious predecessor in charge of South Korea. On Wednesday night, Verbeek retried Guus Hiddink's shoes on for size as Australia mounted their maiden World Cup qualifying campaign through the AFC. If Verbeek's 3-0 victory over Qatar wasn't quite enough to prove the bulk of his doubters wrong, it must have gone mighty close. There will still be those - the cynics who harboured a personal preference of the shining CV of Omar (formally Philippe) Troussier over Hiddink's countryman and former assistant - who might remain unconvinced. Let's see how Verbeek's inevitably jetlagged Socceroos handle the altitude of southwestern city Kunming in their first AFC qualifier overseas against China next month, they might remark. But most of the 50,000-plus clad in the green and gold at the Telstra Dome in midweek, not to mention a host of interested TV viewers, will be jointly relieved and excited by a ruthless first-half display which saw the outgunned Qataris put to the sword in the opening 33 minutes. The first test of the unheralded Verbeek was always going to be his wider influence in the boardrooms of Europe's grandest. His sway over the often reluctant full-time employers of Tim Cahill and the like increased in magnitude when the Dutchman, in what has already become typical of his forthright style, discarded virtually every one of his original A-League contingent, labelling them not up to international standards. Only Queensland's Craig Moore made Verbeek's first starting XI, excelling alongside captain Lucas Neill in central defence. Although whether the former skipper and 2006 World Cup goalscorer is truly considered a member of the A-League gang is doubtful. In any case, Moore, 32, pulled the pin on his national team career immediately after the match. Verbeek also showed his ruthless streak in quietly electing not to call-up Harry Kewell - to surprisingly little fanfare - and then axing Norway-based defender Michael Thwaite after he'd already completed the arduous trip home. "I have better players in his position," was the coach's blunt assessment. "That’s the only reason. Michael did well at training and I really appreciated that he took the time and energy to come here but I have better players in his position. That’s football." It would take a narrow-minded individual not to spot Verbeek gently asserting his control over a notoriously big-headed bunch. Another absentee was Mark Viduka. The Newcastle United frontman played against Middlesbrough in the Premier League the Sunday previous with Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer proving the flight home possible by doing it himself. However, while Viduka's self-imposed international exile continues, Verbeek is not prepared to give up on him without a fight. The Dutchman made a public play for Viduka's future services in the wrap up of the Qatar victory and said he would fly to the north east in person to share a coffee and a chinwag. "Mark is always on the list," Verbeek clearly stated. "I would prefer to have five strikers to choose from and it's always better that players have a headache over fighting for their position than coaches have a headache." Viduka might be on his shortlist, but at 33 this year and with first team football under Kevin Keegan at Newcastle no certainty, Verbeek needed to trial Plan B and stylishly did so in Melbourne, Viduka's hometown. After toying with the idea of playing just one up front, he paired long-haired Karlsruher SC targetman Josh Kennedy with Scott McDonald, the stocky Celtic forward who hasn't stopped scoring in the SPL since moving to Glasgow in the off season. Kennedy headed the opener from Brett Emerton's whipped delivery while McDonald was a menace all night, supplying the low centre which Cahill dummied for Mark Bresciano to tuck away for the clincher. PSV's Jason Culina, in a holding midfield role, also received plaudits after the game, as did revitalised left-footer David Carney, now at Sheffield United in England's second tier. Kennedy and McDonald aside, the names weren't actually that different from the failed Asian Cup campaign last July. But the attitude was. However, with just one full training session to work with a group he'd mostly never before met, the nagging feeling about Verbeek's influence hasn't instantly gone away. The March 26 game in China is another non FIFA-designated matchday which means Verbeek will have a similarly limited time with his players to prepare. But at least for the next month or so he has, as Hiddink did before, Australia's goodwill behind him. Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com Australian Soccer News Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

So it begins. Australia, the 46th member of the Asian Football Confederation, tonight (AEST) commences its maiden World Cup qualifying campaign in the AFC with a match against Qatar in Melbourne. It is important to point out that this is by no means the first match Australia has played in Asia to get to a World Cup. The first couple of those games came way back in 1965, when Tiko Jelisavcic, a Yugoslav journeyman coach from a Sydney Jewish community club called Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, took a ragbag group of Aussies to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a two-leg tie against North Korea. Then, as now, Australia’s knowledge of our Asian opponents was limited. A quote I used in my book, 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation , summed up what passed for footballing due-diligence 40 years ago. Australian Associated Press stringer Jim Shrimpton, one of the only journalists in Cambodia for the match, wrote of Jelisavcic and his “co-manager” Jim Bayutti, who was head of the-then Australian Soccer Federation, going to the Stade Olympique to check out the North Koreans training. “[They] went to the stadium to mingle with crowds watching the North Koreans practise. But Cambodian officials guided them to special chairs in the main grandstand, ten yards from the North Korean officials. After the two groups had exchanged side glances for 20 minutes, the Australians introduced themselves. Jelisavcic, after watching the Koreans, said: ‘We shall beat them.’” Well, not quite. As history records, the Australians instead got thumped 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second and returned home in some ignominy. The North Koreans would of course go on to defeat Italy 1-0 in the 1966 World Cup and almost pull off the upset of the century in beating Eusebio’s Portugal. Then there was the spate of matches played by Australia first under “Uncle” Joe Vlasits in 1969, the charismatic Rale Rasic in 1973, the now-forgotten Jimmy Shoulder in 1977, Les Scheinflug in 1981 and Frank Arok in 1985. Australia also faced Asian WCQ opposition again in 1997 for the infamous meltdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but from then until now Australia has been slogging it out with Oceania and South American teams to make it to the biggest sporting event on earth. So it is a historic occasion for Australia to now be competing as a fully fledged member of the AFC on the Grand Trunk Road of Asian qualifying. These are not just a handful of matches. If Australia can survive beyond its initial foes of Qatar, China and Iraq, the Socceroos’ campaign could take in as much as 18 matches lasting up to November 2009. It will augur a whole new view of Asia among Australians and hopefully facilitate the movement of some Asian players to the Australian A-League, where, as it stands, less than half a dozen Asian players earn their keep. Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek was still playing his cards close to his chest even hours before the kickoff to the Qatar match, naming a provisional 21-man squad that then had to be culled to 18 hours later. Sensationally, Harry Kewell and Nicky Carle weren’t recalled from Europe for the game. The likely starting lineup is not difficult to glean, with only two players who weren’t at Germany 2006 dead certs for Verbeek’s first XI: Celtic’s in-form Scott McDonald will lead the forward line in the absence of Mark Viduka while David Carney, playing some excellent football for Sheffield United, will slot in as a left wingback. (Soccerphile.com’s predicted XI: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Joshua Kennedy.) The only drawback to this team, however, is Verbeek is putting all his stock in a bunch of blokes (save Craig Moore) who have barely had time to wipe their eyes after getting off the plane (albeit in first class) from Europe. For all of the Dutchman’s efforts to get up to speed with the Australian game in the two months he’s been in the country, and his commensurate efforts to get Australian football thinking in tune with European, it is jetlag, not Jorge Fossati’s scheming, that could well kybosh his plans for a winning start to Australia’s AFC World Cup qualifying campaign. Schwarzer only arrived in Australia Tuesday morning from London and went straight to training. The Qataris, meanwhile, have been in Melbourne for over a week. Talk about irony. As The Age ’s sport columnist Richard Hinds wrote on Tuesday, this is one game where “home advantage” doesn't seem to apply. Copyright © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile.com

More mind games from new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek who stunned the Australian media this morning by announcing a 39-man squad for the Socceroos' upcoming World Cup qualifier against Qatar at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on February 6. Only 25 players were expected to be named. The unwieldy size of the group can be attributed to the influx of 19 of Australia's Europe-based stars which again does not include Newcastle United striker and World Cup captain Mark Viduka. However Liverpool's Harry Kewell, Palermo's Mark Bresciano, West Ham's Lucas Neill and Everton's Tim Cahill have been included. They are not expected to jet in to Melbourne until 48 hours before kickoff. Uruguayan-Australian striker Richard Porta, who recently transferred from Montevideo's Club Atlético River Plate to Siena in Serie A, was not selected. He is tipped to choose between representing Uruguay or Australia next month. Australia's forward line will almost surely be led by Celtic's Scott McDonald, with either Karlsruher SC's Josh Kennedy or Central Coast Mariners' John Aloisi as support, depending on Verbeek's preferred formation. Verbeek's rationale for the number of players picked is "maximum flexibility", but in truth it will have more to do with keeping Qatar coach Jorge Fossati guessing on his starting line-up as long as possible. With so many European club players selected, it is highly unlikely that any more than a handful of the 20 A-League players in the provisional squad will make the 18-man final squad to be named on February 4. Two days earlier, Verbeek's Australian-based players will have their last chance to impress in a behind-closed-doors hit-out with 2008 Asian Champions League debutant Melbourne Victory. Pacesetting A-League club Newcastle Jets can be happy with its contribution, though, coughing up no less than seven players among the 20-strong Australia-based unit. Sydney FC coach John Kosmina, who threatened to pull five of his players out of Verbeek's third all-A-League training camp on January 21 so as to prepare unhindered for his side's first-leg finals showdown with Queensland Roar on January 25, got little joy with the selection panel. Only Socceroos defender Mark Milligan and fringe national-team striker Alex Brosque were deemed indispensable. Roar's talismanic midfielder Matt McKay can count himself very unlucky not to make the 39, as he has been one of the A-League's most consistent and electric performers. Yet his team-mate Craig Moore, who didn't even participate in any of the three two-day training camps with Verbeek, was picked. Verbeek, who has kept a relatively low profile since arriving in Australia from the Netherlands, knows he is set for a baptism of fire if he fails to get a result against the No. 88-ranked Qatar, which held Japan to a 1-1 draw during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, His preparation has been hampered by scheduling conflicts caused by the A-League going into the business end of the season and controversy over the make-up of his support staff, which includes his predecessor as national-team coach, failed Asian Cup helmsman Graham Arnold. It is a situation highly unusual in international football to have the incumbent manager paired with the man who came immediately before him and tanked. Qatar, meanwhile, is due to face Denmark at home on January 27 in its third and final international friendly before the WCQ on February 6. In its two international warm-ups this month, against Iran and Syria, it has failed to score. Both matches ended in 0-0 draws. Verbeek's European-based assistant, Henk Duut, was shut out of the game against Iran at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on January 9 and all broadcast footage of the match was banned at the request of the wily Uruguayan. Fossati named a 28-man squad in early January that did not contain the Gulf nation's most celebrated player, Boavista striker Hussain Yasser Abdulrahman. The 24-year-old is currently being loaned out by Sporting Braga. Given the cat-and-mouse antics so far between Verbeek and Fossati and the Qataris' dry spell in front of goal, don't rule out Yasser turning up in Melbourne when the Qatar squad touches down Down Under on January 29. Verbeek's 39-man squad: John Aloisi, Michael Beauchamp, Mark Bresciano, Mark Bridge, Alex Brosque, Jacob Burns, Tim Cahill, Nick Carle, David Carney, Simon Colosimo, Ante Covic, Jason Culina, Bruce Djite, Travis Dodd, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Adam Griffiths, Joel Griffiths, James Holland, Brett Holman, Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald, Mark Milligan, Craig Moore, Kevin Muscat, Stuart Musialik, Lucas Neill, Jade North, Tom Pondeljak, Mark Schwarzer, Archie Thompson, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Michael Thwaite, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Rodrigo Vargas, Danny Vukovic, Luke Wilkshire. © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile A-League Australian Soccer

With South Korea preparing to celebrate independence from Japan on August 15, it is, perhaps, a little ironic that the K-League relies upon foreign players for a sizeable percentage of its goals. It has been well-documented that South Korea scored a measly three times in six Asian Cup games last month. Departing coach Pim Verbeek blamed the goal drought partly on the scarcity of Koreans scoring goals domestically. The Dutchman has a point. The top eight goalscorers in the K League all hail from South American and south-eastern Europe, not from Seoul or Busan. The highest ranked Korean is Daegu’s Lee Kun-ho way down in ninth. The top five can be seen in the graphic above (put together by Sports Chosun). From left to right they are Cabore (Brazil –Gyeongnam), Stevica Ristic (Macedonia –Jeonbuk), Dejan Damjanovic (Serbia –Incheon), Mota (Brazil –Seongnam) and Denilson (Brazil –Daejeon). Below is a graph that shows the percentage of total goals scored by overseas players. Own goals are excepted as are any scored by military team Gwangju Sangmu who aren’t allowed any foreign players –though their need is greater than most. Top Two To Meet Those wonderful waegookins will be in action on Wednesday night as 14 teams in the K-League do their thing on the pitch. Since the end of the midsummer break last week, two rounds of games have suggested that spectators up and down the southern half of the Korean peninsula could be treated to a feast of fine football, excitement and perhaps even goals in the coming weeks. It is unfortunate for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma that the team which finishes top of the standings after 26 games doesn’t automatically win the title, though that fact will bother the other 13 clubs a little less. As the regular season ends, the top six teams will enter the championship play-off series in November. After the resumption of the league, Seongnam have moved even further ahead at the top of the league and the seven-time title-winners are now nine points clear of Suwon Samsung Bluewings in second. The two meet at Suwon’s ‘Big Bird’ World Cup Stadium in front of what should be a large and passionate crowd. A win for Suwon will keep faint hopes of replacing Seongnam on the summit alive. A repeat of the 3-1 defeat suffered in the first meeting between the pair in April however, will virtually seal top spot for the yellow machine that has not tasted defeat in the K-League for 22 games. While the clash of the big boys takes top billing, there is still a good deal of action on offer a little lower down the table as the battle to gain a foothold in the top six increases in intensity. FC Seoul went ten games without a win in the first stage but has started the second half of the season brightly. A home game against bottom club Gwangju Sangmu tonight provides an excellent opportunity for another victory. Just to the west, Incheon United has also collected four points in the last seven days and three more at home to fellow play-off hopefuls Chunnam Dragons will be welcome. Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have looked sharp since the break, picking up an impressive 3-2 win at Suwon last Wednesday and will be looking for another victory at Pohang Steelers. The Jeonju outfit traded Yeom Ki-hoon for fellow winger Chung Kyung-ho in the summer and look to have got the best of the deal and not just because Yeom has a broken heel and will likely miss the rest of the season. In the 180 minutes Chung has played since moving to the south-west city, he has already shown the form that made him one of Korea’s brightest prospects two or three years ago. With Chung wreaking havoc on the wing, the sublime Kim Hyeung-bum returning to fitness after a long-term injury and the energetic Kwon-jib returning to form in midfield, Jeonbuk look well-placed for the play-offs as well as an Asian Champions League quarter-final with Japanese champions Urawa Reds in September. The rest of the action takes place in the deep south-east. Gyeongnam FC has so far struggled to reproduce its performances of earlier in the season and faces a tough task at home to a resurgent Daejeon Citizen, now coached by old warhorse Kim Ho. The former national team coach saw his new team shock usual contenders Pohang Steelers with a 3-0 victory on Sunday. Elsewhere, third-placed Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I face coachless Busan I’Park and Daegu FC take on Jeju United. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings

Fans of the South Korean national team and the Korean Football Association (KFA) have been here before. Korea is now looking for a sixth post-Hiddink coach. Pim Verbeek's resignation at the end of the Asian Cup means that five coaches have now come and gone in the Land of the Morning Calm since the 2002 World Cup. After three spells with the Korea national team, the first two as the assistant at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, Verbeek is a familiar figure in modern Korean soccer and has been a good servant. Taking the reins last summer, the tall 51-year-old had a long-term vision for Korean soccer, up to and beyond the 2010 World Cup. In the global game however, things rarely go according to plan. The Asian Cup was one of those things. Verbeek led the team to third place in a continental campaign that ended in a bizarre fashion as his team defeated Japan in a penalty shootout to finish third. Banished to the sidelines by an overzealous referee for protesting the dubious sending off of Kang Min-soo, Verbeek was forced to sit among the spectators as his team battled until the end. The win means that Korea will now not have to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup, and if that is a positive legacy then there are one or two others. Following the retirement of the much-heralded back-line of 2002, the team has gone through defenders in an attempt to find a settled and competent back four. At the end of the trip to Southeast Asia, however, it looks like an answer has finally been found. Oh Beom-seok, Kang Minsoo and Kim Jin-kyu and Chiwoo went seven hours without conceding a goal and, even better, the quartet are all under 24. The experienced stars were absent, however. After the withdrawal of Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyeon and Kim Nam-il through injury, it was going to be tough for Korea to end its 47-year-long continental drought.The team stayed positive and an Asian Football Confederation official remarked that it was the first time he could remember a Korean team taking the competition with the utmost seriousness. Unfortunately, scoring three goals in six games is going to win neither points nor plaudits.Verbeek was unable to solve the team's problems. As the defense tightened, fewer chances were created and the strikers rarely looked like they could score. Unrest in the Korean media grew - not to severe levels - but enough to question the leadership off the field and the lack of diversity in attack on it. The knockout stage was a slog with all three games lasting two hours with no goals scored or conceded. Those six hours were more than long enough to demonstrate the fighting spirit and fitness of a team, but also showed little in the way of creativity and initiative. It should be mentioned that such qualities are in short supply in a low-scoring K-League with overseas stars responsible for most of what does exist. Goals are not just a national team problem, they are a commodity not abundant domestically and only two out of the top 10 marksmen so far this season hold Korean passports. That is another issue and not one that Verbeek will have to deal with. Soon, it will be the responsibility of someone else. The early front-runner is Jorvan Vieira. The Brazilian led Iraq to the Asian Cup title. Before he did so, he confirmed that not only will he step down from that post but that he has been contacted by the Korean Football Association. The fact that he did so before Verbeek announced his departure was not appreciated in Seoul and does not reflect well on Vieira. There is no need for the KFA to rush as little will happen for the next few months on the national team level and it is important to find the right person. There is always the inevitable talk of big-name coaches, but with the World Cup three years away, tempting, as well as paying, such people is difficult. This is not a bad thing as perhaps it is time to avoid the stop-start effect that is in danger of becoming the norm. It is all very well appointing famous coaches who become more attracted to Korea the closer a World Cup becomes, but as soon as the competition ends, they take their talents elsewhere and Korea finds itself almost back at square one. For now however, it's time for a new start - again. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Hotels in Bangkok - Bookings Hotels in Kuala Lumpur - Bookings Hotels in Jakarta - Bookings Hotels in Hanoi - Bookings Hotels in Ho Chi Minh - Bookings