Italy, but the Hiddink curse makes me extremely uneasy.

Italy will start peaking and go all out, I hope Lippi finaly found the right mix because he's been tinkering with the line up far too much.

 

hiddink :scared:

i really dont know, i am scared. i havent seen many australia games either so i dont know how good they are especially in attack. Italy should drop totti for this game, pippo should start and hopefully toni gets his goalscoring form back.

 

Australia hopefully

nothing against the italians, but i hope Harry Kewell does well and has a good world cup :shades:

will be a good match to watch, knock out football :horny:

 

I think Hiddink does it again...

 

I predict 3 red cards in this match
Seriously 2 tough teams, Italy have more quality but Australia fighting spirit is amazing. Anything can happen and much depends on how the italian player react to the ongoing scandal, after all about half of them could search for a new home later this summer...
I love the knockout stages, even if the game isn't very good at least you have all the tension in it

 

hiddink :scared:

i really dont know, i am scared. i havent seen many australia games either so i dont know how good they are especially in attack. Italy should drop totti for this game, pippo should start and hopefully toni gets his goalscoring form back.

Yeah Totti is still not in top form, and today he tried twice to chip the ball over the goalie and failed miserably.

 

hehe..tough game indeed p
I wonder if the team who wins (Italy probably) will be able to find 11 (decent) starters for their next game...p

 

It will be an entertaining game. After watching them against Croatia, I think Hiddink can pull it again.
Australia to WIN !

 

it really does depend on lippi, i think.

so, Australia

 

Italy are favourites, but they also are a team that will let you play. Whether we can break them in defence is a different story, but I don't think Australia are without a chance.

 

im on such a high today, so why not Australia

 

Italy to just edge it for me.

 

Italy, but they will sweat blood for it.

 

Italy should. But I fear more last night decisions on Serie A than Hiddink. 13 players play fo rteh 4 teams charged; Lippi is also in the pot as ex Juve coach. Totti is seriously off form, but Pippi os back!!!

Italy shoudl just make it. 1-0 probably or 2-1 after ET.

 

Might go to penalties, this one.

But I expect Italy to progress. They just can't afford to do that Korea nigthmare thing again.

 

Australia will have a go at the Italian team. They surely saw what the U.S. boys achieved by playing solid and tough football... Australia will apply the same tools and win it. Now that you ofiicially can afford three yellow cards before you are sent off, will certainly help the Aussies...

Cheers
East Ender

 

I believe and hope that Italy will draw the longest straw in this. T

hem being a better quality doesn't matter much if they decide to go in with the wrong attitude again, against a very determined Aussie side. If Italy can struggle that much against the US, they can lose to an Australia who are better then the US.

 

Australia will have a go at the Italian team. They surely saw what the U.S. boys achieved by playing solid and tough football... Australia will apply the same tools and win it. Now that you ofiicially can afford three yellow cards before you are sent off, will certainly help the Aussies...

Cheers
East Ender

Thun fan!

Were you surprised Ljubo couldn't make the squad ahead of Popovic (who it turns out was carrying an injury anyway)? I certainly was.

 

I 'm afraid Hiddink might come up with some tricky plan :doh:

Q: how important is Emerton for Aus ?
and who will play instead of him ?

 

------------Schwarzer
Neil----------Moore------Chipperfield
--------------Grella
Sterjovski -Cahill-Bresciano-Kewell
-------------Viduka

australia fan from another forum expects this lineup.

 

australia fan from another forum expects this lineup.

It's possible. Our defensive stocks are lower than ever.

- Emerton has excelled in the past two games as a gapfiller so we'll miss him terribly.

- Neill is of course a fullback playing out of position in the centre.

- Moore is our only recognised centrehalf with gametime in him.

- Chipperfield is a winger/striker who has been forced to play as a left centrehalf for long periods in this tournament - while extremely fit and a real goer he is severely limited.

- Popovic is gone for the remainder of the tourney with the calf injury he sustained early on against Brazil.

- Beauchamp, who earned himself a move to the Bundesliga with Nurnberg after a wonderful season at home for the Central Coast and an impressive 10-day trial is a promising defender but hasn't played competitively for months, due to our domestic season finishing in February.

The only other ace up the sleeve I can think of is if Guus plays the towering striker Josh Kennedy as an emergency central defender to counter Italy's strength in the air.

 

but 3 defenders?

 

but 3 defenders?

Depends.

Hiddink has preferred to send us out in a 3-5-2/5-3-2 style system when everyone is fit and available - see Holland, see Brazil.

I wouldn't like our chances if we were to play with a flat back-4 - as it would in all likelihood mean Wilkshite would have to step in at rightback, in which case we shouldn't even bother turning up:

Wilkshire - Neill - Moore - Chipperfield
--------------Grella----------------
Bresciano - Cahill - Culina - Kewell
--------------Viduka---------------

 

A shock can be on the cards, but for now I feel Italy will get a 2-0 win.

 

australia fan from another forum expects this lineup.

There's only ten men in that lineup though so you dont know what the guy was trying to express.

Ljubo Milicivic where are you! I hope Hiddink doesnt put Wilkshire at fullback which is my feeling, i'd rather throw Milligan in.I'd rather replace Emerton with someone out on the right than tinker with the Moore-Neill partnership and force Neill in at Right Back.