Injuries Put A-league Pair In The Frame
The Age
Monday March 24, 2008
EMERGING A-League stars Mark Bridge and Bruce Djite are suddenly World Cup contenders as Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek contemplates his rapidly diminishing striking options for Wednesday's testing qualifier against China in Kunming.
Bridge (Sydney FC) and Djite (Adelaide United) were among nine players handed their Socceroos debut in Saturday night's warm-up match against Singapore, and were also among the 10 - including eight A-League players - who survived the cull and flew to China yesterday.In a logistical juggling act, Verbeek's support staff worked through the early hours yesterday to put the final pieces of the puzzle together, and a squad of 23 players will finally be in one place by this afternoon.Tim Cahill has joined Brett Emerton and Josh Kennedy among the late withdrawals through injury and Derby manager Paul Jewell ruled Mile Sterjovski out after he sustained a groin injury in the 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough."Mile will be OK but he won't be going to China," Jewell told the Derby website.Scott McDonald, Luke Wilshire and Brett Holman were all due to play in Europe overnight (Melbourne time), and Verbeek was hoping they would emerged unscathed from their matches.While the 16 European-based players have the inside running for the starting roles, the loss of Kennedy, coupled with the continuing uncertainty surrounding Mark Viduka, leaves McDonald as the only out-and-out striker of the foreign contingent. And if Verbeek reverts to his favoured 4-2-3-1 system, as seems likely after he dabbled with a 4-4-2 in last month's opening qualifier against Qatar, then both Djite and Bridge zoom into calculations.McDonald is a penalty-box poacher rather than a back-to-goal striker, whereas Bridge and Djite both have proved their worth in holding up the ball.Bridge, who says he "was a bit old (22)" to be making his Socceroos debut, senses an opportunity to add a second cap in quick succession, saying: "With only one striker (McDonald), and us two (Djite) going over, hopefully both of us can get on the bench, and maybe one of us get on. It's a big chance to step up and show our worth . . . me and Brucie have played in some big games in our time with the Olyroos, so I'm sure we can handle the pressure."Djite also fancied his chances. "I think I've been in decent form, obviously playing in the Asian Champions League is a bonus for me, and for Pim to show faith in me is a great bonus as well. It's (call-up) a big surprise, and hopefully I can leave a good impression . . . if Pim believes in us, there's no reason we shouldn't believe in ourselves."While circumstance has largely forced Verbeek's hand in his final selections, he was generous in his praise of the experimental squad that ground out a scoreless draw on a sodden pitch against Singapore. "You can look at the number of players who played for the Socceroos for the first time, I was very pleased with all of them, especially the young boys," he said.One player who did make the cut, Central Coast Mariners midfielder Mile Jedinak, earned special praise, suggesting he may get his chance later in the World Cup campaign. "He was very good in his coaching, he's tactically very clever. Mile did very well, absolutely," Verbeek said. Australian squad to play China: Mark Schwarzer, Ante Covic, Lucas Neill, David Carney, Luke Wilkshire, Jade North, Adam Griffiths, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Michael Beauchamp, Patrick Kisnorbo, Jacob Burns, Mile Jedinak, Mile Sterjovski, Harry Kewell, Jason Culina, Vince Grella, Mark Bresciano, Nick Carle, Brett Holman, Carl Valeri, Archie Thompson, Mark Bridge, Scott McDonald, Bruce Djite.
© 2008 The Age