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Home  » Sports » Aussies ready to gamble all against Brazil

Aussies ready to gamble all against Brazil

By Julian Linden
June 17, 2006 20:42 IST
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Australia coach Guus Hiddink said he is preparing to gamble everything on the Socceroos upsetting Brazil in their World Cup match on Sunday.

Hiddink had hinted he would field a weakened team against the world champions to save his best players for the final Group F match against Croatia but now plans to go for broke.

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Australia have already beaten Japan 3-1 and Hiddink is keen to maintain his team's momentum, knowing a victory against the world champions could be enough to get them into the second round for the first time.

"The success of the first game had a tremendous impact worldwide and in Australia but now we are going into the day of truth," the Dutchman told a news conference on Saturday.

"It's a very attractive match against the world champions. Everyone expects a big victory of the Brazilian team but it is up to us to make the opposition."

Hiddink's biggest concern is that four of his players who picked up yellow cards in the win over Japan would be banned for the match against Croatia if booked again. However, he says he is willing to bet on them maintaining their discipline.

"This game deserves a team which we think is good to make the opposition and not just considering letting (leaving) out all the players who are on yellow cards," he said.

"We are out to make a result, we want to make a good impression worldwide, and I don't think we have to think a lot of the third game, what will happen then we will see after."

Hiddink, a master tactician who took the Netherlands then South Korea to the semi-finals of the previous two World Cups, said he was under no illusions about the task facing his squad and the risk he was taking.

"We are the underdog with capital letters. It's difficult to say how we are going to get a result," he said.

"We have various tactics to cope but against a big team like Brazil, they have so much experience that they can handle any tactical change because they're normally dominating the game."

Australia captain Mark Viduka said his team were approaching the match with the attitude they had nothing to lose.

"It's a big match. Brazil are obviously favourites to win the World Cup so we're going to have to play very well to get a result," he said.

"The game against Japan gave us a lot of confidence, especially getting the three points. In a way we're going into this game with a little bit less pressure on us than the first game."

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Julian Linden
Source: REUTERS
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