Midfielders loom as pivotal to decider - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Midfielders loom as pivotal to decider

By Guy Hand 15/11/2005 08:22:01 PM Comments (0)

Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink is set to unleash midfield weapons Marco Bresciano and Tim Cahill against Uruguay at Telstra Stadium tonight as he attempts to mastermind Australian soccer's finest hour and a half.

In arguably the nation's biggest sporting night since Cathy Freeman's 400m Olympic gold medal at the same venue five years ago, Australia will qualify for its first World Cup finals since 1974 if it beats Uruguay by two goals or more in the second leg of its playoff.

Pivotal to Hiddink's masterplan appear to be the brilliant Bresciano and the big-engined Cahill, both of whom look set to start against Uruguay.

Both were on yellow cards going into the first leg in Montevideo which Uruguay won 1-0, with Bresciano coming off the bench to make a massive impact and prove his recovery from an ankle injury which plagued him in the lead-up.

Cahill didn't get a run in the first leg.

But with Australia needing goals and aiming not to concede any, the Everton midfielder's blood-and-thunder approach and nose for goals stamps him as likely to play some role.

Hiddink wasn't giving anything away on Tuesday, closing all but the first 20 minutes of his team's final training session to the media and declining to name his side until match day.

"When we were approaching the first game, we were also thinking about the second game especially when we were talking about the yellow cards meaning another yellow card would mean a player was suspended for the second game," Hiddink said.

"There are not many secrets, but it's one of my principles to talk in the last meeting with the players tomorrow who we are planning to start and what we are aiming to do."

Bresciano will almost certainly come in for Archie Thompson, who had little impact in the first leg.

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