Socceroos seek finals paradise
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:57 pm
The Socceroos will go into a seven-day, high-intensity camp at a luxury resort on the Gold Coast in preparation for their crucial 2011 Asian Cup qualifier against Indonesia.
The Australians need only a draw from the match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on March 3 to reach the finals in Qatar next January.
But Football Federation Australia is taking no chances and is sparing no expense in its efforts to give coach Pim Verbeek the best possible chance to seal qualification with a side expected to be largely dominated by A-League players.
In the corresponding fixture at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta last year Indonesia and Australia drew 0-0.
Verbeek will announce his squad on Wednesday 17 February.
It will then assemble on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 22 February, for seven days, then transfer to a Brisbane hotel two days before the deciding match.
The A-League finals series takes a break on the weekend of February 27-28.
“It is very important that we get the point we need to qualify for Qatar,” national teams head John Boultbee said.
“And since the match does not fall on a FIFA date we always knew that the bulk of our team would come from the A-League.
“Which is why we made sure there are no A-League finals matches on the weekend before this match.”
The Suncorp game has grown in importance since Australia failed to wrap up qualification in their last Group B match against Kuwait when they could only draw 2-2 after being two goals up in Kuwait City.
The composition of the 16-team finals in Qatar is almost finalised.
The best three teams in the 2007 Asian Cup - Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic - qualified automatically as did host country Qatar.
Japan, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, UAE, China and Syria have advanced from their respective qualifying groups.
They will be joined by two teams from Australia, Kuwait and Oman and two more from Singapore, Jordan and Thailand.
The last two spots will be taken by the winners of the 2008 and 2010 AFC Challenge Cups for second tier teams. India won in 2008 while the winners of this year’s event in Sri Lanka will be known on February 27.
The draw for the finals will take place in Doha in April.
The Australians need only a draw from the match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on March 3 to reach the finals in Qatar next January.
But Football Federation Australia is taking no chances and is sparing no expense in its efforts to give coach Pim Verbeek the best possible chance to seal qualification with a side expected to be largely dominated by A-League players.
In the corresponding fixture at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta last year Indonesia and Australia drew 0-0.
Verbeek will announce his squad on Wednesday 17 February.
It will then assemble on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 22 February, for seven days, then transfer to a Brisbane hotel two days before the deciding match.
The A-League finals series takes a break on the weekend of February 27-28.
“It is very important that we get the point we need to qualify for Qatar,” national teams head John Boultbee said.
“And since the match does not fall on a FIFA date we always knew that the bulk of our team would come from the A-League.
“Which is why we made sure there are no A-League finals matches on the weekend before this match.”
The Suncorp game has grown in importance since Australia failed to wrap up qualification in their last Group B match against Kuwait when they could only draw 2-2 after being two goals up in Kuwait City.
The composition of the 16-team finals in Qatar is almost finalised.
The best three teams in the 2007 Asian Cup - Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic - qualified automatically as did host country Qatar.
Japan, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, UAE, China and Syria have advanced from their respective qualifying groups.
They will be joined by two teams from Australia, Kuwait and Oman and two more from Singapore, Jordan and Thailand.
The last two spots will be taken by the winners of the 2008 and 2010 AFC Challenge Cups for second tier teams. India won in 2008 while the winners of this year’s event in Sri Lanka will be known on February 27.
The draw for the finals will take place in Doha in April.