The news that Australia talisman Harry Kewell has been overlooked by new coach Pim Verbeek for Australia's opening World Cup qualifier against Qatar provoked less wailing and collective gnashing of teeth than I might have expected.

That's probably because Australian football fans have already worked themselves into an hysterical frenzy over Verbeek's frank assessment that he would rather select European-based players who were training regularly, over players currently plying their trade in the A-League.

The reaction that Verbeek's statement caused was immediate and sadly indicative of Australia's insular mindset. The suggestion that the Dutchman pack his bags and head back to his snobby Euro-football might have been a predictable one from the average flag-waving fan, but when the calls are led by Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater and Sydney FC coach John Kosmina, it's harder to fathom.

The fact that not a single ball has been kicked under Verbeek's reign has been incredibly overlooked. Nor has Verbeek's obvious knowledge of Asian football been taken into account - the Dutchman was formerly coach of J-League sides Omiya Ardija and Kyoto Sanga FC, and was twice an assistant coach of the South Korean national team, before guiding them as head coach during the 2007 Asian Cup. Oddly enough the same Australian fans who snipe that the Koreans played "boring football" remain silent on the subject of some of the football on offer in the A-League. The fact that Sydney FC coach Kosmina grumbled about how to utilise 2002 World Cup winner Juninho surely speaks volumes.

Now Verbeek has walked into the lion's den - desperately under-prepared as his team faces up to a tricky looking Qatar in Melbourne. An all A-League Socceroos side could only manage a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at the weekend, in Australia's only hit-out before the World Cup campaign kicks off. That surely vindicates Verbeek's claim that an all A-League team would struggle to qualify for the World Cup.

Patriotic jingoism aside, Verbeek's decision to drop Harry Kewell smacks of an attempt by the Dutchman to assert some authority over the squad. Kewell is, after all, the most storied player in the Socceroo ranks. As a 17-year-old he scored in both legs of Australia's agonising World Cup defeat at the hands of Iran. In 2003 he tormented England in a 3-1 demolition of "the Old Country" at Upton Park and was instrumental in Australia's epic World Cup playoff win over Uruguay in 2005. Crucially, he scored the goal the sent Australia through to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Yet the erstwhile Liverpool midfielder has been plagued by injury and poor form over the past few seasons. His poor spot-kick against Japan in the 2007 Asian Cup sent Australia on the way to a penalty shoot-out loss, and his chances of regular first-team football appear limited at Liverpool. Form and fitness aside, Harry Kewell simply should not be expected to carry the national team every time he takes to the pitch.

The commotion over Verbeek's A-League assessment and the subsequent omission of Kewell has at least generated feverish interest in the clash with Qatar. Should Verbeek's men register a first-up victory at a restlessly sold-out Telstra Dome it might silence the sceptics - for now. It won't, however, dampen the perception that Australians are growing increasingly intolerant of outsiders. One thing is the same - when it comes to being criticised, Australians remain as reactionary as ever.

After gearing up for their World Cup qualification campaign last month with an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Chile and a slightly improved performance in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina four days later, Japan set their sights on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa when they take on Thailand in their opening qualifier at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday.

Coach Takeshi Okada - who is currently in his second spell in charge of the Blue Samurai, has set his sights ambitiously high, claiming that "(i)n 2002, South Korea came in fourth. This team can do better."

The former championship winning coach with Yokohama F. Marinos surely has more immediate concerns. He's been in charge for just under three months, after a severe stroke forced former coach Ivica Osim out of the job. Bereft of the time to make sweeping changes, Okada has retained most of the players from a squad that crashed out of the 2007 Asian Cup at the semi-final stage.

A quick check of a group that also contains Thailand, Oman and Bahrain suggests that Japan should finish in the top two and progress to the next qualification round. Yet things might not be so simple. Thailand were impressive at the 2007 Asian Cup, holding eventual champions Iraq to a 1-1 draw, beating World Cup opponents Oman 2-0 and conceding three goals in the final ten minutes as they ultimately succumbed 4-0 to Australia.

At least the icy weather currently gripping the Kanto region will make things difficult for Thailand, who might struggle to come to terms with a slippery surface and a hostile atmosphere at Saitama Stadium. Yet with Japan currently struggling up front, the clash with Thailand could be decided by a solitary strike.

The Thailand encounter will likely set the tone for the rest of Japan's qualification campaign. One or two players would do well to take any opportunities that come their way by the scruff of the neck - Vissel Kobe's Yoshito Okubo and Yokohama F. Marinos star Koji Yamase were both criminally overlooked by Ivica Osim, whilst the likes of Yosuke Kashiwagi, Yuzo Tashiro and more obviously Atsuto Uchida may also get their chance. Japan will want to start on the front foot though, with difficult looking trips to Al Manamah, Muscat and Bangkok on the horizon.

Japan's 2010 World Cup qualification campaign is as follows;

February 2: Japan vs Thailand (Saitama Stadium)

March 26 : Bahrain vs Japan

June 2 : Japan vs Oman (Yokohama International Stadium)

June 7 : Oman vs Japan

June 14: Thailand vs Japan

June 22 : Japan vs Thailand (Saitama Stadium) 

Japan beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in freezing conditions at the National Stadium in Tokyo last night, thanks in no small part to two goals from substitute Koji Yamase.

After a season of starring for the otherwise mediocre Yokohama F. Marinos, the tricky Yamase finally got his chance when JEF United striker Seiichiro Maki went off injured. Yamase scored twice, finishing both goals with aplomb - which begs the question of why he was never given a chance under former coach Ivica Osim.

Speaking of Osim, the former Yugoslavia coach watched the match from the National Stadium, just months after suffering what appeared to be a life-threatening stroke. While Osim undoubtedly made strides with the national team, he'll no doubt have noted that many of the players most effective against Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely Atsuto Uchida, Yoshito Okubo and Yamase, were players who were overlooked under Osim's reign - generally for players Osim knew from his days as coach of JEF United.

Japan face Thailand in their opening World Cup qualifier on February 6, and on the basis of their 2007 showing at the Asian Cup, the Thai's will be no pushover. With the JEF United side that lifted the 2005 and 2006 League Cup having disintegrated this January, and with Ivica Osim no longer in charge of the national team, many fans in Japan are hoping that 2008 spells change for the Blue Samurai, particularly in terms of playing personnel.