Socceroos v South Africa 19/8/2008

[pjennings]

From the FFA site

Verbeek names his squad for South Africa match
Friday, 8 August 2008


Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected an 18 -player squad for the upcoming international friendly match against South Africa at Loftus Road Stadium in London on Tuesday 19 August 2008.

The squad features all-European based players with most having recently been involved in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian region qualification matches.

Verbeek has also included long serving Qantas Socceroos defender Scott Chipperfield who has recovered from a foot injury that has prevented him from appearing for the national team this year.

"We're looking forward to this match as part of our preparation for the crucial World Cup qualifier next month ," said Verbeek

"I have not selected any Hyundai A-League players in this squad because the match falls just at the beginning of the new Hyundai A-League season.

"I am very appreciative of the generosity of the coaches in the Hyundai A-League earlier this year, in letting players join the national team in the season, but it's important now when a new season starts that the Hyundai A-League can start with full strength squads ," concluded Verbeek.

The Qantas Socceroos are currently placed at 38th on the FIFA World Rankings, which were released earlier this week, whilst South Africa are at 73rd position and are the first nation to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as the hosts of the tournament.

Following this friendly match, the Qantas Qantas Socceroos will prepare for another international against the Netherlands at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven on the 6 September ahead of their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Wednesday 9 September.

QANTAS SOCCEROOS SQUAD TO PLAY SOUTH AFRICA

Michael Beauchamp - Aalborg BK, Denmark - 17 (1)
Mark Bresciano - US Palermo, Italy - 42 (10)
Nick Carle - Crystal Palace FC, England - 7 (0)
Scott Chipperfield - FC Basel, Switzerland - 55 (11)
Chris Coyne - Colchester United FC, England - 1 (0)
Jason Culina - PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands - 32 (1)
Brett Emerton - Blackburn Rovers, England - 66 (14)
Vincenzo Grella - Torino FC Spa, Italy - 35 (0)
Brett Holman - AZ Alkaamar, Netherlands - 16 (1)
Josh Kennedy - Karlsruhe SC, Germany - 6 (2)
Harry Kewell - Galatasaray SK, Turkey - 35 (11)
Scott McDonald - Celtic FC, Scotland - 8 (0)
Lucas Neill - West Ham United FC, England - 41 (0)
Michael Petkovic - Sivasspor, Turkey - 6 (0)
Mark Schwarzer - Fulham FC, England - 58 (0)
Mile Sterjovski - Derby County FC, England - 34 (6)
Carl Valeri - U.S. Grosseto FC, Italy - 10 (0)
Luke Wilkshire - FC Twente, Holland - 26 (0)

Match Details
Qantas Socceroos v South Africa
Tuesday 19 August
Kick-Off 8:00pm (2000hrs) BST (5:00am AEST, Wednesday 20 August 2008)
Loftus Road Stadium
South Africa Road,
Shepherds Bush, W12 7PA,
United Kingdom

Not a bad squad - change Coyne for Spiranovic and Pektovic for anyone. Throw in Timmy and Dukes and it looks pretty good. Looking forward to Megsy getting a game where he will have a LB that will do his job.

 

[FFC Mariner]

Spiranovic would be an asset to the squad.

one error - Grella might be playing for Fulham by the time that game comes around (fingers crossed)

 

[marinersman]

That's a very decent squad.

Great to have Chippers back so we don't have to watch Carney's woeful impersonation of a Footballeroo. I know he's at the Olympics so couldn't be selected anyway, but you know what I mean.

 

[loyalist]

That's a very decent squad.

Great to have Chippers back so we don't have to watch Carney's woeful impersonation of a Footballeroo. I know he's at the Olympics so couldn't be selected anyway, but you know what I mean.

Not really
hes done quite well in the national team imo

 

[marinermick]

the one thing that really strikes you about the stats after the players' names is the lack of one or two strikers with a prolific goalscoring rate at national level

 

[marinersman]

Have we ever had one Mick?

 

[kevrenor]

Have we ever had one Mick?

David Zdrillic and Archie Thompson - 

Oh, that was against some Pacific atolls!!  :ashamed:

 

[marinermick]

Have we ever had one Mick?

David Zdrillic and Archie Thompson -  

Oh, that was against some Pacific atolls!!   :ashamed:

damian mori -

but seriously, harry has the best rate at 1 in 3 games

we always had prolific strikers in our squad since the early 70s but this lot does not inspire confidence in scoring goals

 

[FFC Mariner]

Wouldnt you try to have Burns in the squad just to give him experience??

Not shit-eh because he is not international quality, but Burns might just be one day

 

[northernspirit]

without kennedy we rely heavily on our midfielders to score, nothing different with this squad... djite is raw but could be a decent NT player in years to come if he develops

burns much the same imo

 

[midfielder]

The squad looks very strong ....... do we have proven goal scores ? ! no one stands out do they but I would give the Kennedy / McDonald pairing a while to settle they have some promise. Maybe the midfield needs to provide better balls as neither holds the ball the way Dukes does or is a back to goals player. But IMO more work needs to be done by the midfield to open up the defense for the strikers we have.

 

[serious14]

Could someone pretty please find out for me if this is being shown in Beijing anywhere??

 

[FFC Mariner]

p2p would have to be the most likely I reckon

 

[Bear]

Could someone pretty please find out for me if this is being shown in Beijing anywhere??

Sorry mate, I forgot to get my Beijing Sunday Telegraph, so I cant check the Beijing weekly TV guide for you

 

[Mariner Girl]

Could someone pretty please find out for me if this is being shown in Beijing anywhere??

Sorry mate, I forgot to get my Beijing Sunday Telegraph, so I cant check the Beijing weekly TV guide for you

Bear - sorry but serious asked for someone pretty to check. LOL.

 

[dru]

Could someone pretty please find out for me if this is being shown in Beijing anywhere??

Sorry mate, I forgot to get my Beijing Sunday Telegraph, so I cant check the Beijing weekly TV guide for you

Bear - sorry but serious asked for someone pretty to check. LOL.

He's going to struggle in here then.    Bear may of been his best hope of pretty 

 

[Mariner Girl]

Dru - I trust you are only referring to you boys when you say serious will struggle to find someone pretty.

Us girly girls can accommodate serious's question. The Answer would be: Not possible to show match here in Beijing. Must check online rebwite for lesult of your match.

 

[serious14]

Ahhhhhh, you're all so helpful - that's why I love this place so. 

 

[Mariner Girl]

And you love us so much too 

Going to the Argie bloodbath?


Edit ***just read your other post***

 

[clarence]

If you see Graham Arnold around (I reckon you'll see Arnold pub crawling after the Olyroos crash out, so there's a chance the 2 of you will cross paths somewhere  ;D ), ask him where he's watching it. Doubt Pim will want him anywhere near the Socceroos in London, in case he spreads some type of bad luck on the team.