Farina Trims His Squad Down To 20 For Ofc Nations
Socceroos coach Frank Farina today trimmed his provisional squad for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup qualifiers against the Solomon Islands.
Socceroos coach Frank Farina today trimmed his provisional squad for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup qualifiers against the Solomon Islands.
Farina has named a strong 20-man squad for the two-match series that is missing only Birmingham City's Stan Lazaridis through injury.
"I have selected the best possible side for the matches," said Farina.
"Barring injury these will be the 20 players that will attempt to get us through to Germany." "The Solomon Islands showed what they are capable with their performances in Adelaide and it is vitally important that we qualify for the Confederations Cup ahead of next year's World Cup qualifiers." The winner of the Australia v Solomon Islands series will land a place in next year's FIFA Confederations Cup alongside hosts Germany, World Cup holders Brazil, Argentina, Greece, Tunisia, Mexico and Japan. Star midfielder Marco Bresciano (pictured above) is in doubt after leaving the field early during Parma's 2-all draw with Inter Milan on the weekend. "We are waiting on the results of some scans but at the moment Bresciano is in doubt," added Farina. Australia and Solomon Islands reached the final of the OFC Nations Cup by finishing first and second after Stage Two of the competition held in Adelaide during June. The two nations played out a 2-2 draw in the final game of the tournament. Solomon Islands will host the first leg of the series in Honiara on Saturday 9 October before the return match in Sydney three days later.
Socceroos 20-man squad for FIFA Confederations Cup qualifying series John Aloisi (Athletico Osasuna, SPAIN), Marco Bresciano (Parma, ITALY), Tim Cahill (Everton, ENGLAND), Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, SWITZERLAND), Simon Colosimo (Pahang, MALAYSIA), Ahmad Elrich (Busan, KOREA), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, ENGLAND), Vince Grella (Parma, ITALY), Zeljko Kalac (Perugia, ITALY), Harry Kewell (Liverpool, ENGLAND), Craig Moore (Rangers, SCOTLAND), Kevin Muscat (Millwall, ENGLAND), Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, ENGLAND), Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, ENGLAND), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, ENGLAND), Josip Skoko (Genclerbirligi, TURKEY), Mile Sterjovski (FC Basel, SWITZERLAND), Danny Tiatto (Leicester City, ENGLAND), Tony Vidmar (Cardiff City, WALES), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, ENGLAND). MATCH DETAILS Solomon Islands v Australia OFC Nations Cup Final - First Leg 2.00pm (1.00pm AEST), Saturday 9 October 2004 Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara ASA website will do a LIVE MATCH UPDATE of the game from 1.00pm
Australia v Solomon Islands OFC Nations Cup Final - Second Leg 7.30pm, Tuesday 12 October 2004 Aussie Stadium, Sydney TICKETING DETAILS - AUSSIE STADIUM MATCH Tickets on sale from all Ticketek outlets, (02) 9266 4800 or www.ticketek.com.au
Adult Concession Family CATEGORY A $50 N/A N/A CATEGORY B $35 $17.50 $70 CATEGORY C $20 $10 $40 * A $7.95 transaction fee per booking applies.
TELEVISION
SBS TV will show a delayed telecast of the game at 10pm on Tuesday 12 October.