Sports / News
Australia order review into Asian Cup flop
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-23 13:24
HANOI, July 22 - Australia have ordered an urgent review into their
failed Asian Cup campaign amid fears their plan to find an easier route
to the World Cup could backfire.
The Australians ditched Oceania for Asia last year for the promise of
stiffer competition and a direct qualifying path to the World Cup, but
now admit Asia is harder than they thought.
The Socceroos had been critical of FIFA's insistence that the Oceania
winners had to play off against South American opposition to qualify for
the last two World Cups instead of receiving an automatic berth.
Australia managed to beat Uruguay on penalties to qualify for the 2006
World Cup and end a 32-year absence from the sport's biggest event, but
went ahead with their plan to join Asia because it offers four automatic
berths.
That decision was initially vindicated when Australia became the only
Asian team to make it to the second round of the World Cup but the
Socceroos efforts at the Asian Cup have forced them to re-think their
strategy.
Despite boasting that they would win the tournament at their first
appearance, Australia flopped. They drew with Oman, lost to Iraq then
beat Thailand to sneak into the second stage as Group A runners-up.
They produced their best performance in the quarter-final against
defending champions Japan, only to bow out on penalties after they
finished extra time locked at 1-1.
HEAT ISSUES
"This experience has shown us all that the road ahead is going to be
very, very difficult," said Australia coach Graham Arnold, who is likely
to be the first major casualty of the failed campaign.
"The conditions here are very tough. It's going to be very difficult to
come here and play World Cup qualifiers in this sort of heat when all our
players are based in Europe."
Football Federation of Australia (FFA) chief executive Ben Buckley said
the Socceroos would have to learn from their mistakes and find a way to
cope with the extreme heat and humidity in Asia if they were to succeed.
"What's important is that you do a really thorough assessment and review
of what worked and could have worked better and what you learn," Buckley
said.
"We've seen what the conditions are going to be like and if we need to
adjust our planning then we'll do that."
Despite the disappointment of an early exit, Buckley said Australia
remained excited about their future and were exploring the option of
hosting the Asian Cup in 2015 and capitalising on their rivalry with
Japan by scheduling regular matches.
"The good thing is that this is our first Asian Cup and we've all seen
the potential scale of it and that augers well for the future both off
the field and on the field," he said.
Top Sports News
� Olympic team suffers defeat against Juventus
� Alonso snatches dramatic victory
� NBA players shocked at game-fixing investigation
� Francis returns to Rockets with 2-year deal
� S. Korea grind down Iran to seal penalty win
Today's Top News
� Hu tours flood-hit area as storm toll hits 152
� Local gov'ts 'ignoring' green model
� Children exposed to sexy adverts
� Deadline extended for Korean hostages
� Fate of Taliban hostages in dispute
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learning Chinese, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment