Verbeek sure Australia can advance at Ghana's cost

Published Date: 19 June 2010
By Thahir Asmal

PIM Verbeek insists he has had more difficult weeks with Australia during his two-and-a-half years in charge and is confident of a strong reaction from his players when they come up against Ghana in their vital World Cup encounter today.
The Socceroos were thrashed 4-0 by Germany on Sunday in a dismal opening to their campaign and now face a must-win encounter in Rustenburg.

They currently sit bottom of Group D, but defeat by the Germans against Serbia yesterday has thrown the race for the top two places wide open.

"We have had several training sessions this week and the players reacted very well to the loss against Germany," the coach said. "We all know the situation now. The only thing we can do is win against Ghana. I expect a good reaction from the players."

The Dutchman claims there were occasions during the road to South Africa that more than matched the difficulty of the past six days. He also revealed they have not done anything differently to counter what happened in Durban, with their preparations following the usual course.

Verbeek continued: "I think we had more difficult weeks during our World Cup qualification, to be honest."

Tim Cahill, who is suspended for the game after his red card against Germany, misses out, along with Vince Grella (knee), but Harry Kewell is fully fit for the first time and will be gunning for a place.

Ghana face major injury concerns, but coach Milovan Rajevac remains confident his side can claim the victory that would put them in command of Group D. The Black Stars will be without defender Isaac Vorsah, while his first-choice centre-back partner John Mensah is also struggling.

It means that Rajevac may have to field a completely different pairing in central defence, an area that was so key in helping them keep a clean sheet against Serbia in their opening World Cup game – a match they won 1-0.

http://sport.scotsman.com/football/Verbeek--sure-Australia-can.6372396.jp