Friendly: South Korea v Australia

[Big Sam]

Korea Republic v Australia
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, Korea Republic
Kick-off: 7.00pm local (9:00pm AEDT)
Live FS1

Squad:
Eli BABALJ, Aziz BEHICH, Alex BROSQUE, Robbie CORNTHWAITE, James HOLLAND, Mathew LECKIE, Ryan McGOWAN, Lucas NEILL, Tommy OAR, Tom ROGIC, Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, Mathew RYAN, Mark SCHWARZER, Matthew SPIRANOVIC, Archie THOMPSON, Michael THWAITE, Carl VALERI.

NB McKay, Wilkshire, and Sarota withdrew overnight.

-

My predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1):
Schwarzer
McGowan - Neill - Spiranovic - Oar
Valeri - Holland
Leckie - Rogic - Ruka
Thompson

 

[Big Sam]

Well I was a bit too optimistic...

The Qantas Socceroos ‏@Socceroos
STARTING XI | Schwarzer, McGowan, Neill (c), Cornthwaite, Thwaite, Thompson, Holland, Valeri, Oar, Rukavytsya and Brosque
https://twitter.com/Socceroos

So I guess that means
Schwarzer
McGowan- Neill - Cornthwaite - Thwaite
Holland - Valeri
Ruka - Brosque - Oar
Thompson

 

[Big Sam]

Good result and decent performance given the lack of preparation.

McGowan and Ruka impressed in the first half and Babalj was solid for the 15 minutes he was on.

Here's hoping Holger really uses the East Asian Cup qualifiers in December to blood some more A-League youngsters.

 

[Haffa]

Couldn't understand why he played Schwarzer for 90 minutes.

 

[Misanthrope]

Some good showings from guys not often given a chance. Ruka, Holland, and Thwaite all looked solid outside of that early goal concession.

Good to see guys like Rogic and Behich and Babalj getting a shot too.

His post match comments worry me a bit. Seems like he still plans to trot out the old guard in future qualifiers.

 

[Big Sam]

Seems like he still plans to trot out the old guard in future qualifiers.

He will. If we win then next two then we're pretty much qualified so maybe he'll use the younger guys for the final two qualifiers.

Also the East Asian Cup next year (which we will qualify for easily) will give him another 3 games to try and integrate some younger blokes.

 

[Misanthrope]

Forgot about the East Asian Cup. Given we're no real chance of being a contender in 2014, I'd like to see us grooming our younger lads to make a real tilt at winning the 2015 Asian Nations Cup on home soil.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

Forgot about the East Asian Cup. Given we're no real chance of being a contender in 2014, I'd like to see us grooming our younger lads to make a real tilt at winning the 2015 Asian Nations Cup on home soil.

Missing out on the World Cup in 2014 would cost Soccer Australia millions maybe even 10's of millions of dollars. That is why he will pick the best players regardless of age.

 

[Misanthrope]

Missing out on the World Cup in 2014 would cost Soccer Australia millions maybe even 10's of millions of dollars. That is why he will pick the best players regardless of age.

Don't disagree at all. I wasn't saying he should forget about World Cup qualification - I was more referring to using next year's East Asian tournament and friendlies to prepare for life after the old guard.

I do, however, disagree that the likes of North, Neill, and Thompson are the best players we have.

 

[Big Sam]

I'd like to see us grooming our younger lads to make a real tilt at winning the 2015 Asian Nations Cup on home soil.

My biggest fear is that the old guys like Luca$h, Schwarzer, Tim, Thompson, Emerton etc. will want a swansong on home soil and will hang around for 6 more months to play in the Asian Cup.

In my opinion, if they're not going to Russia 2018, their last ever game for Australia should be in Brazil.

But if that happens then the FFA should select a coach who has the balls to tell them no - something Holger didn't do. The Asian Cup represents the perfect environment for a complete overhaul of the squad. The younger players will enjoy adjusting to International football on home soil rather than in the pressure cooking of a WCQ in the Middle East.

 

[Misanthrope]

In my opinion, if they're not going to Russia 2018, their last ever game for Australia should be in Brazil.

Agreed. That was the issue we had after 2010. A lot of these guys could have been phased out right after the World Cup, although it may have been harsh given their impressive showing in last year's ANC.