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Old vs. new Ex-champ Uruguay visits upstart Aussies for first-leg playoff
Updated: Monday November 19, 2001 12:25 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Stung by its last-gasp elimination from qualifiers in 1998, Australia is seeking atonement when it hosts two-time World Cup champion Uruguay in the first leg of a playoff for the last spot at the 2002 World Cup. Australia is a young country with a brash young team containing proven goal scorers Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell. The Oceania confederation champion is desperate to make it in the big leagues. Uruguay has history and tradition on its side -- and an attacking midfielder in Alvaro Recoba. Up for grabs Tuesday and in the return match Nov. 25 at Montevideo is the 32nd and last berth at the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup, the first staged in Asia and the first to be co-hosted. Australia advanced to the home-and-away playoff by winning the Oceania qualifying series, notching back-to-back world record scores with a 22-0 win over Tonga followed by a 31-0 thrashing of American Samoa. The Socceroos then beat New Zealand for the right to meet the fifth-place South American nation. Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil and Paraguay qualified automatically out of the South American qualifying, which went down to the final round. Uruguay, which hasn't qualified for the finals since Italy in 1990, squeezed into fifth place on a 1-1 draw at home to Argentina. The Uruguayans conceded just 13 goals in 18 qualifying matches in South America, but have struggled to put the ball in their opponents' net, an object that has been made more difficult since star striker Dario Silva broke his collarbone against Argentina. While the Uruguayans were battling for survival, Australia warmed up with a 1-1 draw against world champion France in Melbourne last week. Australian coach Frank Farina on Monday named an unchanged starting lineup for the Uruguay match, featuring Leeds United teammates Kewell and Viduka in the forward line. The Uruguayan team arrived in Australia on Friday and held predominantly closed training sessions all weekend. The closed-door policy continued Monday. Coach Victor Pua has defended the policy of keeping his players off limits, saying his lineup is concentrating only on the game. "We are expecting to face a very strong Australian side who will try to exploit their aerial power and their ability to penetrate the flanks," said Pua, speaking through a translator. "I've been impressed with what I've seen of [Brett] Emerton and [Harry] Kewell, but nevertheless I have great faith in my team's defense to handle any threat that comes their way." Juventus defender Paolo Montero is the lynchpin of the Uruguayan defensive line that hopes to shut down the Kewell-Viduka combination. Pua has not named a starting lineup, but is expected to use either Javier Chevanton or Frederico Magallanes as a striker to replace the injured Silva. Recoba and Nicolas Olivera could also combine in the forward apex, with Gonzalo de los Santos and Pablo Garcia in midfield. While Farina said neither team would be "running away with it," he added that it's vital for Australia to score goals at home and take an advantage into Montevideo match. "I would settle for a 1-0 scoreline right now," Farina said. "I think it's going to be very close." The Socceroos hope a 90,000-plus crowd will help them overcome a dismal home record which shows they have never won a significant World Cup match on Australian soil. The tension in both camps is high. Uruguay, World Cup champions in 1930 and 1950, are hoping to relaunch a new cycle of success. The Australians are waiting for a first taste. Australians have long enjoyed success on the sporting fields of the world, winning major championships in traditional sports such as cricket, rugby, tennis and golf as well as more diverse pastimes like surfing and alpine skiing. But soccer is the big exception and the national team's repeated failure to make the World Cup finals has become a sore point in a country where success is almost taken for granted. Australia has one appearance at the World Cup finals, losing two of its three preliminaries at the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Its losses were against the former West Germany -- the eventual titlist -- and the former East Germany. A scoreless draw with Chile was the high point. Australia has missed out each time since 1974 through a combination of bad draws, bad luck and bad play. Its biggest disappointment was letting a 2-0 lead slip against Iran at Melbourne four years ago and letting the Iranians equalize at 2-2 and advance to the World Cup on the away goals rule. "We're all sick of thinking about it, and talking about it," said captain Paul Okon. "Everybody is just looking forward to going out there and winning in front of our home supporters." "We're sick of talking about that match," Farina said. "It's a part of our history and we can't change that. "Some of the players who were there before might use that as motivation but we can't let it affect the way we play, we have to concentrate on this game." Lineups: Australia: Mark Schwarzer; Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Shaun Murphy, Tony Vidmar; Brett Emerton, Paul Okon (captain), Josip Skoko, Stan Lazaridis; Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell. Uruguay: TBA.
Reuters contributed to this report. |
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