I know this is a little late but I came across a good analysis from the Uzbekistan game.
It is awesome that we are a whisker away from the World Cup, but the challenge now is to improve on Germany 2006, and performances such as the away trips to Japan and Bahrain will not be good [...]

The Socceroos have a two month wait before they can officially pop the champagne after Bahrain nipped Qatar for a 1-0 win in Manama overnight. A 2-0 win against Uzbekistan in Sydney earlier left the Socceroos as group leaders with 13 points, and a draw between Bahrain and Qatar would have meant that the Socceroos [...]

Australia have all but secured a spot for their second consecutive World Cup Finals appearance with a somewhat fortunate 2-0 win over a fighting Uzbekistan tonight at Stadium Australia.
57,000 fans braved the atrocious conditions to witness the Socceroos’ stirring second half performance after a cagey and disappointing first half. Two goals midway through the second [...]

John Aloisi, with 32 years of history on his shoulders, stands proud. He stands defiant. He stands determined. Sweat pours down his face, seeping through his golden jersey. But he doesn’t care, he barely notices. Since the very first time he laced up football boots, he has dreamt of being [...]

It’s obviously not very sporting to cheer at your opposition’s injuries, so in my most subdued voice, Uzbekistan’s main scoring threat Maxim Shatskikh will not be playing on Wednesday night.
The World Game reports that the Dynamo Kyiv striker will miss the crucial match due to sickness, and won’t even be on the plane for [...]

The Socceroos took one giant step closer to World Cup Qualification overnight, and they didn’t even have to play. With results in other matches going our way in Japan and Uzbekistan, the Green and Gold are left in an envious position where we only need four out of the remaining possible twelve points in order [...]

Bruce Djite has been drafted into the Socceroos squad amidst injury concerns heading into the World Cup Qualifier against Uzbekistan on April 1.
With barely a week to go till the game, reports coming from camp are that two un-named attackers have broken down with injuries, and Pim has therefore sent an SOS to the Genclerberligi [...]

Foxsports commentator Simon Hill coined the phrase “Pragmatic Pim Verbeek,” and that was exactly what the Australian coach delivered with the Socceroos’ battling 0-0 draw with Japan tonight.
Verbeek’s mission tonight was to come away with a point and consolidate our two point buffer over the hosts, and his troops did not fail to disappoint, repelling [...]

As mentioned in my last post, the Socceroos finished the year on a high, achieving their highest ever FIFA ranking of 28th. Throughout the year, the Socceroos played nine World Cup Qualifiers and four International friendlies, finishing with a record of eight wins, three draws, and two losses. With this in mind, I take a [...]

Pim Verbeek has named one of the strongest Socceroos squads we’ve had available in his tenure for the World Cup Qualifier against Bahrain, although it’s unclear whether certain key players will be fit. Nevertheless, here’s the complete group he’s called up in his initial squad list:
Goalkeepers:
Adam Federici (Reading)
Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor)
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)
Defenders:
Chris Coyne (Colchester Utd, [...]