Team news update

There are several minor hiccups in the Socceroos’ preparation for Sunday morning’s (EST) World Cup Qualifier against Qatar. Tim Cahill is suffering from a slight hip injury he sustained in the FA Cup final over the weekend, while reports suggest that Bruce Djite, Mark Bresciano, Mile Jedinak, and Matt Spiranovic are also suffering from injuries which restricted them to light training.

On a positive note, Harry Kewell is reportedly in the prime of his career, coming off a superb season with Galatasaray which has seen the winger score 12 goals in 34 appearances. He also commented on the strong team spirit the squad shares and that should Mark Viduka decide it is time to come back into the squad, he would be gladly welcomed by the players.

Elsewhere, Scotty McDonald has again announced his determination to score his first goal for Australia, which is one of the more baffling statistics in Australian football. For someone who has scored over 40 goals for Celtic in the past two seasons, Macca’s duck for the Green and Gold is somewhat surprising.

Finally, the Socceroos have climbed back into the top 30 on FIFA’s monthly rankings. Coming in at 29, the Socceroos have risen three places from last month, and remains the top ranked Asian nation. However, Japan are hot on our heels, climbing four places to be at 31.

Overall, European champions Spain are still at the pinnacle, with the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Brazil rounding out the top five.