IT MAY not quite be the same journey into the unknown for Pim Verbeek as it will be for his players, but the Socceroos coach admits Uzbekistan will still be a dangerous "dark horse" when the World Cup qualifying campaign resumes in a fortnight's time.
Verbeek yesterday announced an extended 27-man squad for next week's camp in Eindhoven, where the Socceroos will play the Netherlands in a warm-up match on September 6.
It's likely some fringe players will be left behind when the squad moves on to Tashkent for the World Cup qualifier four days later, with Verbeek admitting that the time for experimentation was over.
It will be the first time an Australian team has played in Central Asia, but it's not a first for Verbeek, who has been to Tashkent in his previous life as coach of South Korea, and also got to watch the progression of the Uzbeks in both the 2006 Asian Games, and the 2007 Asian Cup.
"I think the English word is dark horse, isn't it?" he said. "Everyone is focusing on Japan as the big team in the group, but I know Uzbekistan from before. They were the first team to qualify for this [third] round, so there is no reason to underestimate them.
"I have been there [Tashkent] before, so I know what to expect. For me there is not a big surprise. They play a Russian style of football: physically strong, skilful, with good organisation, and the fans will be very fanatic - so it will be a hectic evening for our boys. It is an interesting challenge, a tough game, and it can help qualification if we can get a good result over there. It won't be easy, but we have a good preparation coming up, so I am happy."
Verbeek will certainly hope the Socceroos start the next stage better than they finished the last - a first World Cup defeat on home soil in 27 years, against China. Since then, eight players have changed clubs, including Luke Wilkshire (to Dynamo Moscow) and Vince Grella (to Blackburn Rovers) in the past 24 hours, while Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano and Grosseto midfielder Carl Valeri have been tipped to move to Rangers and Cagliari respectively before the transfer window closes on Monday.
One player whose club career has become a concern for Verbeek is former Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan, who is still without a club despite captaining his country at the Olympics.
"I am concerned about him, definitely," he said. "He's young and he's talented, and a player like that should be playing every week, if possible for a big club. It's in his best interests to find a club as soon as possible."
Verbeek has recalled fit-again Harry Kewell, Michael Beauchamp and Brett Emerton after the trio missed last week's friendly against South Africa in London, while he has called in goalkeeper Brad Jones (Middlesbrough) and left-sided defender Shane Stefanutto (Lyn Oslo) for the first time. Kewell again looms as a key player as the World Cup campaign heads towards its climax.
The 29-year-old scored for his new Turkish side, Galatasaray, in an opening-round win over Denizlispor last weekend, and has suggested part of his motivation for moving to Istanbul was to cut down the travelling time when he plays for his country in Asia.
Verbeek watched Kewell in action last weekend and attended a Galatasaray training session, and liked what he saw.
"So far Harry is very happy at his new club. Turkish football suits him very well, and I think he's thrilled with a new challenge," he said.
Australia has a bye on the opening day of the qualifiers and, while Verbeek will be with the squad in Eindhoven, he will send a scout to watch the Uzbeks open their campaign against Qatar in Doha. "We are following the [Uzbekistan] team, we also have four or five DVDs, so we will have a lot of information," he said. SOCCEROOS SQUAD Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer, Ante Covic, Brad Jones, Michael Petkovic. Defenders: Jade North, Shane Stefanutto, Matthew Spiranovic, Michael Beauchamp, Mark Milligan, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Scott Chipperfield, Lucas Neill, Chris Coyne. Midfielders: Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Jacob Burns, Jason Culina, Vince Grella, Richard Garcia, Brett Holman, Mile Sterjovski, Carl Valeri. Strikers: Josh Kennedy, Bruce Djite, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald.
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