Jorome Alexander Bennett
Well-Known Member
http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/socceroos/socceroos-line-up-dutch-date-122459/
The road to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup is being mapped out at Football Federation Australia with the announcement of two prestigious international matches in August and September to kick-off the next stage of the World Cup qualifying campaign as well as qualifiers for the 2011 Asian Cup.
The Socceroos will meet 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in London on 19 August and the Netherlands in Eindhoven on 6 September.
Its all part of the road that leads to the door of the 2010 World Cup, said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.
We said we would leave no stone unturned in doing everything we can off the park to help Australia qualify for the 2010 World Cup and the same goes for the 2011 Asian Cup."
Coach Pim Verbeek sees these two international matches as important opportunities to get the squad together and to work with the players in a match environment.
As hosts of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa are the only team guaranteed of a berth at the tournament.
With many of South Africas first team players also based in England and elsewhere in Europe, meeting them in London is an efficient and valuable opportunity for both of us, Buckley said.
The teams last met in 2005 in Durban with a 1-1 draw but previously met in London in 2004 with Australia winning 1-0.
The Netherlands game will be played four days before Australias crucial World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan on 10 September.
Its important that we go into the Uzbekistan game with as much preparation as possible, and playing a team which is ranked fifth in the world and made the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 will give us just what we need at that time, Buckley said.
It is also a warm-up match for the Dutch team which is set to meet FYR Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier on 10 September, and will be the first game with new coach Bert van Marwijk in charge.
Australia has only met the Netherlands once - in a warm-up match prior to the 2006 World Cup resulting in a 1-1 draw in a highly competitive workout for both teams.
Australia v South Africa will take place on Tuesday 19 August at Loftus Road, the home ground of Queens Park Rangers, with the kick-off time to be confirmed. Netherlands v Australia will take place at Philips Stadium, Eindhoven, on Saturday 6 September with kick-off time of 8.45pm local time.
These two games bring the Socceroos confirmed match schedule over the next 12 months to 12 matches including two Asian Cup qualifiers.
Its a busy schedule, Buckley said. But its also precisely why we wanted to be part of the Asian Football Confederation."
We have regular, high quality competitive matches with real meaning and real context that fans want to see.
Buckley said that more competitive matches for the Socceroos will lead to improved standards and greater growth and development in the game in Australia.
The road to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup is being mapped out at Football Federation Australia with the announcement of two prestigious international matches in August and September to kick-off the next stage of the World Cup qualifying campaign as well as qualifiers for the 2011 Asian Cup.
The Socceroos will meet 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in London on 19 August and the Netherlands in Eindhoven on 6 September.
Its all part of the road that leads to the door of the 2010 World Cup, said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.
We said we would leave no stone unturned in doing everything we can off the park to help Australia qualify for the 2010 World Cup and the same goes for the 2011 Asian Cup."
Coach Pim Verbeek sees these two international matches as important opportunities to get the squad together and to work with the players in a match environment.
As hosts of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa are the only team guaranteed of a berth at the tournament.
With many of South Africas first team players also based in England and elsewhere in Europe, meeting them in London is an efficient and valuable opportunity for both of us, Buckley said.
The teams last met in 2005 in Durban with a 1-1 draw but previously met in London in 2004 with Australia winning 1-0.
The Netherlands game will be played four days before Australias crucial World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan on 10 September.
Its important that we go into the Uzbekistan game with as much preparation as possible, and playing a team which is ranked fifth in the world and made the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 will give us just what we need at that time, Buckley said.
It is also a warm-up match for the Dutch team which is set to meet FYR Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier on 10 September, and will be the first game with new coach Bert van Marwijk in charge.
Australia has only met the Netherlands once - in a warm-up match prior to the 2006 World Cup resulting in a 1-1 draw in a highly competitive workout for both teams.
Australia v South Africa will take place on Tuesday 19 August at Loftus Road, the home ground of Queens Park Rangers, with the kick-off time to be confirmed. Netherlands v Australia will take place at Philips Stadium, Eindhoven, on Saturday 6 September with kick-off time of 8.45pm local time.
These two games bring the Socceroos confirmed match schedule over the next 12 months to 12 matches including two Asian Cup qualifiers.
Its a busy schedule, Buckley said. But its also precisely why we wanted to be part of the Asian Football Confederation."
We have regular, high quality competitive matches with real meaning and real context that fans want to see.
Buckley said that more competitive matches for the Socceroos will lead to improved standards and greater growth and development in the game in Australia.
