jelly123
03-22-2008, 01:57 AM
Experienced Socceroo Brett Emerton has been ruled out of Australia's vital World Cup qualifier against China on Wednesday.
First up for the Australians is a warm-up game against Singapore on Saturday, with battling midfielder Harry Kewell named captain of the Socceroos.
But their main focus has to be the qualifier against China, where the Australians will try to build on their opening 3-0 victory over Qatar, but they will have to do so without established Socceroo Emerton.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek acknowledges the loss of the Blackburn Rover with a groin problem is a blow, but he remains confident Australia have the depth to cover for his absence.
Emerton suffered a recurrence of a previous groin problem last weekend.
"He (Emerton) is a very experienced player, but I think we have some quite good players in the team who can pick up that position, I have no worries about that," Verbeek said.
"But we will still miss a player with that experience and quality and of course that's a loss."
Kewell, who is trying to get his contract with English Premier League club Liverpool renewed after protracted injury problems, will lead the Socceroos in the friendly at the Singapore National stadium.
The midfielder will have fond memories of the venue, coming off the bench and scoring in a 3-0 victory over Singapore there last year.
The gifted attacker is one of just five overseas-based men in a squad dominated by mostly uncapped players drawn from the A-League competition, with Verbeek expected to name his final line-up on Saturday.
While the fixture wouldn't appear to be one of the bigger games Kewell has played for Australia, the 29-year-old suggested it was quite significant given his current situation.
"I'm going through a difficult time at the moment and to play this game is very important to me and I'm really looking forward to it," he said.
Kewell, who made the first of his 29 Socceroo appearances way back in 1996, described captaincy as a great honour, but emphasised the need for collective leadership.
"It's going to be a big game for the young players out there and I want to see another ten captains out there."
Kewell is expected to back-up four days later at altitude for the match against China in Kunming.
Verbeek said he already had an idea of which players from the squad for Saturday's game would travel to China, but stressed that still depended on the performances in the Singapore game and any injuries suffered this weekend by his European-based players.
The Dutchman anticipated a decent hit-out against Singapore.
"I know from the last time Singapore played Australia, that it was a difficult game for Australia, so it will be a good test for my players," Verbeek said.
"I think they all look forward to playing at the stadium. The field looks very good, so we have no excuses for tomorrow."
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=390288&rss=yes
http://www.soccerhut.net/worldcup2006/img/socceroos/Emerton.jpg
First up for the Australians is a warm-up game against Singapore on Saturday, with battling midfielder Harry Kewell named captain of the Socceroos.
But their main focus has to be the qualifier against China, where the Australians will try to build on their opening 3-0 victory over Qatar, but they will have to do so without established Socceroo Emerton.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek acknowledges the loss of the Blackburn Rover with a groin problem is a blow, but he remains confident Australia have the depth to cover for his absence.
Emerton suffered a recurrence of a previous groin problem last weekend.
"He (Emerton) is a very experienced player, but I think we have some quite good players in the team who can pick up that position, I have no worries about that," Verbeek said.
"But we will still miss a player with that experience and quality and of course that's a loss."
Kewell, who is trying to get his contract with English Premier League club Liverpool renewed after protracted injury problems, will lead the Socceroos in the friendly at the Singapore National stadium.
The midfielder will have fond memories of the venue, coming off the bench and scoring in a 3-0 victory over Singapore there last year.
The gifted attacker is one of just five overseas-based men in a squad dominated by mostly uncapped players drawn from the A-League competition, with Verbeek expected to name his final line-up on Saturday.
While the fixture wouldn't appear to be one of the bigger games Kewell has played for Australia, the 29-year-old suggested it was quite significant given his current situation.
"I'm going through a difficult time at the moment and to play this game is very important to me and I'm really looking forward to it," he said.
Kewell, who made the first of his 29 Socceroo appearances way back in 1996, described captaincy as a great honour, but emphasised the need for collective leadership.
"It's going to be a big game for the young players out there and I want to see another ten captains out there."
Kewell is expected to back-up four days later at altitude for the match against China in Kunming.
Verbeek said he already had an idea of which players from the squad for Saturday's game would travel to China, but stressed that still depended on the performances in the Singapore game and any injuries suffered this weekend by his European-based players.
The Dutchman anticipated a decent hit-out against Singapore.
"I know from the last time Singapore played Australia, that it was a difficult game for Australia, so it will be a good test for my players," Verbeek said.
"I think they all look forward to playing at the stadium. The field looks very good, so we have no excuses for tomorrow."
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=390288&rss=yes
http://www.soccerhut.net/worldcup2006/img/socceroos/Emerton.jpg