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Wednesday June 18th - 10:00AM | ||
| vs | NETHERLANDS | ||
| FIFA RANKING 59 | FIFA RANKING 15 | ||
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| HOW THEY QUALIFIED |
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| AUSTRALIA Having cruised to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ with two games to spare, Australia entered their second qualifying campaign for the global showpiece since joining AFC targeting a second consecutive and smooth qualification. Instead, the road to Brazil 2014 proved to be a bumpy one for the Socceroos, who had to overcome some erratic form to secure their progression. A narrow comeback win over Thailand and a loss to Oman in the opening stage served as a warning shot, although they ultimately progressed to the next phase as group winners. Then the Australians opened the next round in miserable fashion, drawing against Oman and Japan before losing to Jordan 2-1. Though stunned, they rallied to claw back into contention with a victory over Iraq before two draws and a 4-0 defeat of Jordan put them on the cusp of qualification. They kept their cool in the final match of the round against Iraq as substitute Josh Kennedy scored late to seal their passage through. NETHERLANDS The Netherlands positively cruised into the finals of Brazil 2014, coming through as Europe's the joint-top point scorers - alongside Germany - on 28, with their 2-2 draw against Estonia the only minor blemish on a near-faultless campaign. At times they were absolutely purring, in no game more so than their 8-1 defeat of Hungary, while Germany were the only side on the continent to score more goals than their 34. They registered comfortable wins over their three main Group D rivals - Turkey, Hungary and Romania - in their opening four games to see them shoot clear of the competition, with only a spectacular collapse looking able to deny them an automatic spot. That never came and a, somewhat nervy, 2-0 win over Andorra saw them, alongside Italy, become the first Europeans to seal their place in Brazil. They finished nine points ahead of Romania, a gap only matched by neighbours Belgium |
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RECENT RESULTS |
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| AUSTRALIA | NETHERLANDS | ||
| 18/06/13 - AUSTRALIA 1-0 IRAQ 11/06/13 - AUSTRALIA 4-0 JORDAN 04/06/13 - JAPAN 1-1 AUSTRALIA |
15/10/13 - TURKEY 0-2 NETHERLNDS 11/10/13 - NETHERLNDS 8-1 HUNGARY 10/09/13 - ANDORRA 0-2 NETHERLNDS |
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| PLAYERS TO WATCH | |||
| AUSTRALIA Tim Cahill remains the team’s undoubted star and talisman with a stunning goal ratio from midfield and equally remarkable heading ability despite his modest stature. Long-serving skipper and central defender Lucas Neill remains a bedrock of the team and has never let his country down regardless of domestic form. A two-goal showing at South Africa 2010 has seen Brett Holman’s profile and importance to the team take a sharp upward trajectory with the midfielder displaying versatility and an impressive short passing game. |
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| NETHERLANDS Robin van Persie's blossoming into one of the finest strikers in the world has been a huge boon to the Dutch, with the Manchester United marksman topping the goal-scoring charts with 11 goals. He was able assisted in that department though by the likes of Jermaine Lens - who has progressed into a key part of the Oranje outfit - and Rafael van der Vaart. Arjen Robben continues to be a menace on the wing, while formerly promising youngsters such as Kevin Strootman and Daryl Janmaat are now key components of the side. |
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