Tim Cahill celebrates with team mates
The Socceroos joined Japan, South Korea, and Netherlands in qualifying for the World Cup when they drew with Qatar.
Pim Verbeek deservedly gets kudos. This is his first World Cup as a coach after being an understudy to Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat in South Korea.
Skipper Lucas Neill paid tribute to Verbeek.
“What an achievement. The FFA have picked him and everyone was saying, ‘who is this guy’, and he’s been tactically shrewd. His preparation’s been amazing.”
I have been critical of Verbeek in the past taking his exclusive player selection from European leagues as a sign he has never rated the A-League highly. So this little incident comes as a pleasant surprise.