Kewell To Miss Japan Game… and other minor matters

Harry Kewell will not take part in Wednesday night’s vital World Cup qualifying clash with Japan after he failed to make a comeback for his club side Galatasaray.

Despite having been out of action for over two months with a hernia operation, Pim Verbeek gave his star winger every chance to prove his fitness. However, with Kewell’s omission from Gala’s side which drew 1-1 with Kayserispor over the weekend, Verbeek had no choice but to leave him out.

While the Socceroos’ following match will be an Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in March, Kewell is likely to miss that game also with Pim expected to go with another A-League based squad, meaning Harry won’t be back in the Green and Gold till April against Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, the mind games have begun between Verbeek and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Okada, with the Dutchman stating that the Japanese’s closed training sessions are a sign that they are feeling the pressure of Wednesday’s game. Okada proceeded to shrug off Verbeek’s comments, saying that Pim should know better, and that his words won’t have any effect on the Japanese team.

The latest news is that the two esteemed coaches are preparing for a slapsies match in the playground during little lunch.

And finally, after watching him in an interview for Fox Sports last week, it has occurred to me that Pim has the worse comb-over in the world.