The Socceroos had almost everything go against them: a spate of injuries, a tough environment to play in, minimal preparation time. Ten minutes into the game, things started looking even worse, as Pim Verbeek was forced to sub Archie Thompson off after he picked up a calf injury.

But chances on both sides were few. China had several opportunities early on, but struggled to come up with the finishing touch. Australia had one excellent opportunity in the first half, Brett Holman laying up a pass for Marco Bresciano, who could do little more than kick it straight at the Chinese ‘keeper. But in all, this was a rather pedestrian match.

The second half saw China emerge stronger, although their work in the final third continued to be their downfall. Lucas Neill and Jade North were excellent in defense, and Mark Schwarzer had relatively little to do. Until the 89th minute, that is.

China’s coach, Vladimir Petrovic, had brought on three substitutes in the first half hour of the second period – undoubtedly an attempt to capitalise on any Australian players struggling with the altitude. And it looked to have paid off, with substitute Qu Bo running into the penalty area and stealing a dubious penalty. “It’s Italy all over again”, somebody at the pub said.

Not quite. A beautiful Schwarzer save brought on the biggest cheer of the game. There could have been bigger cheers a minute later when Bresciano broke free in the box and crossed it to David Carney, but Carney barely connected. A few minutes later, it was game over.

On paper, China away looked like the toughest match in the group stage, especially with the injuries and elevation working against the Socceroos. A win would have been glorious, but a 0-0 draw felt like a victory.

Views from other blogs:

• Confessions of an A-League Junkie
• The Round Ball Analyst
• The Football Tragic

Players have been dropping like flies: Tim Cahill, Josh Kennedy, Scott McDonald, Brett Emerton, Mile Sterjovski, Bruce Djite. John Aloisi was not added to the squad, apparently due to a knee injury. Not was Mark Viduka, who must have pen poised to sign his international retirement.

Harry Kewell will be available, and he will be wearing the captain’s armband. While there are still doubts about his fitness and ability to give a solid ninety minutes, Kewell will be of central importance tonight. With so many of our first team squad missing – especially up front – Kewell is China’s greatest threat.

The run of injuries has paved the way for Archie Thompson to break into the first team squad, perhaps as a sole striker. With Josh Kennedy missing, Australia lacks a strong aerial threat up front.

It all looks rather ominous, doesn’t it? After Melbourne’s loss last Wednesday against Chonburi FC, and the Socceroos’ 0-0 draw with Singapore on the weekend, I am left feeling rather pessimistic about tonight. Pim Verbeek, on the other hand, is a little more hopeful. About the run of injuries, he said yesterday:

“These things can happen… but we still have enough players to win the game and that’s what we’re going for.”

My tip: China 1, Australia 1
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Midway through the first half, I thought one word could describe the Socceroos’ drubbing of Qatar: Clinical.

It seemed too easy. Qatar may have come out with a 5 man defense, but the Australians were finding holes with little trouble.

In the end, it was the Socceroos’ aerial assault that killed Qatar. Josh Kennedy nailed his first header in the 10th minute; 7 minutes later, Tim Cahill doubled the lead with another well-placed header. By then, it felt like the contest was over. Qatar had had minimal possession and rarely proved threatening.

Marco Bresciano’s goal in the 32nd minute only confirmed what was already obvious: Australia had its first three points in the bag.

After the break, Qatar emerged with two fresh faces and a less defensive formation. An obvious move, considering. But it turned the game into a much more even affair, as the Socceroos noticeably reduced the pressure. Qatar’s passing improved and they were able to maintain posession – but outright chances were still rare.

Qatar may have been beaten, but they’re far from gone in this World Cup qualification campaign. A 1-1 draw in the other Group A match between Iraq and China (more) keeps Qatar just a point behind 2nd place.

Australia’s next qualifier is on March 26, when they play China, a match reportedly to be played at an altitude of 1900 metres to give the Chinese an advantage.

Australia coach Pim Verbeek has had 6 weeks to decide whether to field a team of inexperienced A-League players, or try his luck with a squad of experienced – but potentially jet-lagged – Europe-based players. After several training camps with the local players, culminating in an embarrassing 1-1 draw against an undermanned Melbourne Victory last Saturday, Verbeek has opted for the latter.

Selecting a team after spending only two days with the majority of the players is far from a safe option. But then, picking a side that can’t beat a Melbourne side missing many of its key players is just plain foolish. Choosing the “Euroroos” was the better of two risky options.

Or at least, that’s what we hope.

Yesterday, Verbeek named a provisional 21-man squad, which is due to be shortened to 18 today. Rodrigo Vargas and Kevin Muscat did not make it into the shortlist, which featured 7 A-League players: John Aloisi, Ante Covic, Jade North, Craig Moore, Danny Vukovic, Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Melbourne’s Archie Thompson. Joel Griffiths and Mark Milligan were both injured on the weekend, putting them out of contention for tonight’s game.

Not among the 14 Europe-based players are Harry Kewell, Michael Beauchamp and Nick Carle, who were informed earlier this week that their services were not necessary. Michael Thwaite, who flew out to Melbourne last week, has also been told he will not be needed.

Coaching Qatar is one Jorge Fossati, a man many Australians will remember for being the coach of Uruguay when Australia qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Fossati has plenty of reason to seek revenge.

But he will be trying to do so with a Qatar side missing some of its best players: Uruguayan-born Sebastian Soria, the team’s star striker; Portuguese-born Yasser Hussein, a midfielde; defender Bilal Mohammad; and striker Sayed Al Bachir.

Qatar failed to score in their three warm-up matches last month, a result which has made most pundits predict that the Qatari 11 will be banking for a nil all draw. But with Al Sadd striker Ali Afifi and talented 19-year old Khalfan Ibrahim running behind him, Qatar’s potential to steal a goal should not be underestimated. And according to today’s Age, Pim isn’t underestimating their counterattack at all.

Qatar are considered the easiest of Australia’s Group 1 challengers, with both China and Iraq promising tough competition. Winning tonight is, quite simply, essential.

My tip: 2 – 0

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