Australia and USA will take on each other in their last friendly fixture today (5 June) at the Ruimsig Stadium, Johannesburg in South Africa. It is a match where winning is not the only objective for the two World Cup qualifiers. Rather, they would like to sort out the problems before the World Cup 2010 kicks off on 11 June.
Time
The match kicks off at 12:30 GMT and 14:30 local time. In USA, the match starts at 05:30 Pacific time and at 08:30 Eastern time. In Australia, the match begins in Sydney and Melbourne at 22:30 and in Adelaide at 22:00.
Live Score
To get the live score of the match visit the following link:
http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?region=-12&team=340&team2=335
Football fans in Australia are not satisfied with the recent performance of the Socceroos. Australia may have won both of their recent friendly affairs against New Zealand and Denmark, but they looked unsettled when it comes to finishing. Performance of the forward line up is a matter of worry for the fans, while star striker Harry Kewell is yet to retain his match fitness.
It is good news for Australia that Kewell has returned to training recently and could be fit for Australia’s opening match against Germany on 13 June. In his absence, Joshua Kennedy would have to pull the string for his team, while Everton’s Tim Cahill would have to supply cross and passes from the midfielder for the striker up front.
USA, on the other hand, has the bitter experience of a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Czech Republic, but the Americans bounced back in the next game as they defeated Turkey 2-1 before setting out for South Africa.
Despite the victory over Turkey, USA defense was exposed on a number of times during the match and coach Bob Bradley knows it very well that similar lapses in the back four would be capitalized fully by the likes of Wayne Rooney when they face England in their tournament opener on 12 June.
When USA might be worried about the performance of their defenders, they have the strength in the midfield and attack. Players like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Jozy Altidore are there to bolster their attack. Dempsey and Donovan would have to provide firepower in USA attack against Australia as Altidore may sit out for the match with his ankle injury.
Australia coach Pim Verbeek has suffered lots of criticisms for Australia’s unimpressive performances in the recent firendly games. Forward line up could be a matter of concern for the Australians now, but their defense led by veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is pretty much strong and solid. Their defense line up features the reliable and experienced players like Lucas Neill and Craig Moore.
So, it seems that it could be a fight between USA attack and Australian defense, though there is no way USA can rule the threats posed by the likes of Cahill and Kennedy.
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