Lady luck, is not on our side….

I was looking at the pots for Asia on Saturday. I knew this was going to be a tough draw for us, regardless of who we got. I then thought of what would be the worst case scenario: Australia, Iraq, China and Qatar. No prizes for guessing what happened. It seems we had absolutely no luck, and Murphy’s law came into play.

I am still very confident of progressing. The most important thing will be that we must pick up all nine points at home. Everyone is talking about 40 degree temperatures in the Middle East, but they are forgetting the fact that if we build a formidable fortress here, we will have one foot into the next round. If we can do that, and get a draw here and there away from home (we are more than capable of winning, but I’m just being realistic and conservative) we will have no problems progressing. For some of the qualifiers, our European stars will not be available. I am still confident though, especially seeing the way we qualified for the Olympics in extreme conditions, with our youngsters, all A-League players.

John Aloisi has come out and said this draw means we will be better prepared for the World Cup, if we qualify. I totally agree with him. This will be a challenge, and will bring out the best in the team. Who knows, we could do better than we did in Germany. Quarter finals, Semi Finals anyone?

PS I’m going on a holiday for a month, so hopefully Melissa can keep you informed while I’m away.