Socceroos : China 2:0

Japp war ein super Spiel! Die erste Halbzeit voller Energie und die 2. waren die guten Jungs in "Green and Gold" leider etwas müde. Bis auf Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer, Marc Breciano und Mark Viduka waren die meißten "älteren" Stammspieler verletzt oder wurden nicht frei gestellt (Cahill, Culina, Emmerton, Kewell, Grella, etc). Nun ja Besserung wurde ja geschworen. Statt 45min Power volle 90 im Asian Cup.
Sorry aber 28.3 sowie Spiel gegen Iran spielen net die Socceroos, sondern die Quantas Under 23!

Qantas Socceroos Thailand 7:35 pm Bangkok (THA) 16.07.2007
Qantas Socceroos Iraq 5:20 pm Bangkok (THA) 13.07.2007
Qantas Socceroos Oman 5:20 pm Bangkok (THA) 8.07.2007
Qantas Socceroos Argentina 7:30 pm Melbourne 6.06.2007
Qantas Socceroos Uruguay 8:00 pm Sydney 2.06.2007
Qantas Socceroos China 4:00 pm Guangzhou (CHN) 24.03.2007

Und ein kurzer Spiel Bericht und Kommentare zum Asian Cup und dem Spiel von Lucas Neill (alles in englisch) hier:

LUCAS Neill insists the Socceroos must adopt a killer instinct if they want to win the Asian Cup in July.

The West Ham United defender was chuffed with the first half in which Australia handed China a footballing lesson in Guangzhou, but he and his fellow defenders were under pressure for much of the second despite holding out for a 2-0 win.
"In the second half we gave them a bit of hope, but it gives us confidence going into games knowing that if we perform the way we did in the first half we can finish games off in the first half hour," Neill said.

"But that's not the level we want to reach – we want to get higher than that and sustain it for longer periods.

"The first 45 was good, the second 45 not quite as good, so we need to play like we did in the first half for 60 to 70 minutes."

Neill claimed the captain's armband midway through the second half when Mark Viduka was substituted.

The pair will lock horns at Upton Park on Saturday in a clash which could have a crucial bearing on West Ham's Premiership survival chances.

In the meantime Neill showered praise on Viduka, quipping it was akin to a tribute game for the Middlesbrough striker.

"He was on fire wasn't he? The first half was like a testimonial for the guy, no one could get near him, he was just dragging three and four in," he said.

"That's Dukes. He's a great player and these guys didn't know how to handle him. He was fantastic.

"A lot of our play goes through him and as a result, when you play to your strengths, you play well."

Coach Graham Arnold summoned Neill, Viduka, Mark Schwarzer and Marco Bresciano for a pre-game chat at which he urged them to step up and support their young teammates, given the absence of 11 World Cup players (excluding the four retirees).

Neill sensed the Socceroos had the edge moments before kick-off and took it upon himself to address the team.

"There were a lot of presentations before the game and we went out 15-20 minutes before the game," he said.

"I said to the boys, 'Have another good warm-up and get ready from the start because they look like they might come out cold'.

"As it was we caught them well and truly off guard and we played some great football.

"If that was anywhere else they would have been applauding (us) for years to come.

"They had nothing to lose in the second half and they came out with a gung ho attitude.

"We had nothing to gain and they did put us under a lot of pressure but it was probably better that it went like that.

"We got to test a few things out and we had to see how the young lads were going to adapt to the pressure. I thought we did OK."

Australia made six substitutions but Arnold left the defensive partnership of Michael Beauchamp and Patrick Kisnorbo intact, learning from past mistakes.

Against Paraguay, Beauchamp scored an own goal in the dying minutes after coming on for Tony Popovic.

"Ever since that game, when we threw away a much-deserved victory, maybe Arnie's been a bit nervous to change defenders because you know your role, you know your man, you know the shape," Neill said.

cheers, S.