Josh Kennedy (left) loses out to Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar gave the Oranje the lead in just the sixth minute, but the game was turned on its head when home goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was given his marching orders on the stroke of half-time.Harry Kewell converted the resultant penalty and Josh Kennedy produced the winner on 76 minutes to ensure the Socceroos a winning preparation ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST).Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk opted to start with Robin van Persie, despite his injury worries, as he sought to give the Arsenal forward some match practice ahead of their World Cup opener away to FYR Macedonia in midweek. Real Madrid midfielder Arjen Robben, however, was not called upon.The only surprise in Australia's starting XI was AZ Alkmaar forward Brett Holman's inclusion in the midfield ahead of Mark Bresciano, while Carl Valeri filled in for injured defensive midfielder Vince Grella.The Dutch wasted little time to grab the lead, converting from their first opportunity of the match after just over five minutes.A long ball down the left opened up for Ryan Babel to run on to and his cut-back into the box found Huntelaar, who struck a low shot past Mark Schwarzer.Australia responded with some good attacks on the counter, including a Brett Emerton clever cross for Jason Culina who could only head wide.Schwarzer did well to thwart Johnny Heitinga after 20 minutes with the Atletico Madrid defender put through from a quick free-kick, but unable to get past the veteran Australian goalkeeper.The home side continued to probe away with Van Persie shooting just over from a free-kick while Rafael van der Vaart did the same when well fed by Babel.Holman should have equalised in the 37th minute when a gentle header from Kewell set him through on Stekelenburg, who managed to deflect the Australian's low shot.But the real drama for the Dutch keeper came in the 44th minute. A horrible back pass from Heitinga forced Stekelenburg into a reckless lunge on Kennedy and he brought the big Australian down.Referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot and then handed the keeper a red card. Kewell slotted the penalty past substitute stopper Henk Timmer and it was 1-1 at the break.Bresciano and Mile Sterjovski replaced Kewell and Emerton at half-time as Australia Coach Pim Verbeek looked to save his most influential players for the Tashkent match.Van Persie departed as well, with Dirk Kuyt on as the lone front man after Huntelaar had gone off for Timmer before the break.With both teams having more important games on their plates this week, there was no great hurry to find a winner and despite having an extra man Australia preferred the long ball.The away side's persistence was eventually rewarded when former FC Twente midfielder Luke Wilkshire provided an excellent cross for Kennedy, who jumped above Andre Ooijer and headed well to beat Timmer.Pride wounded, the home side searched hard for an equaliser, but substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed wide from a corner and then failed to connect to Ibrahim Afellay's cross.

Kuyt forced Schwarzer to save in injury-time, but the Socceroos held on and will head to central Asia full of confidence.

Harry Kewell (born September 22, 1978 in Smithfield, Sydney), is an Australian soccer player who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. in the English Premier League. He is arguably the most well-known footballer ever to come out of Australia. Kewell was raised in Sydney by his English-born father, Rod, and Australian mother, Helen. He was educated at Smithfield Public School, Westfield’s Sports High School and New South Wales Academy. At age 15, Kewell and his future Socceroo teammate Brett Emerton travelled to England to trial with English Premiership football club Leeds United. Both were offered contracts but only Kewell was able to take up the offer, thanks to his father's heritage. Kewell is married to English soap star Sheree Murphy, whom he met at the Majestyk club in 2000. They were married in Las Vegas in May 2003 and have two children, son Taylor (born 2001) and daughter Ruby Heather Toni (born 2003). He has ended his lucrative football boot deal with adidas to in order to wear boots made by Brisbane Company Nomis, for free. International career King Harry, on The West Australian newspaperIn November 1997, Kewell was selected to play for Australia in the country's upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Iran. At the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, in front of an estimated crowd of 120,000, Kewell scored his first ever goal for his country and gave Australia a 1-0 lead. Iran eventually drew level and the game resulted in a 1-1 draw, which set up a tense return game in Melbourne. A then-record crowd of 85,000 - at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - witnessed the second leg of this World Cup qualifier against Iran, as well as Kewell's second goal. The Socceroos eventually stretched their lead to two goals but Iran fought back and scored two vital away goals to finish the game 2-2 and qualify for the World Cup World Cup 2006 In November 2005, Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup taking place in Germany. It was the first time Australia had qualified for the World Cup since 1974 when it was held in West Germany. To reach the World Cup Australia beat Uruguay in a two-legged play-off. Kewell was considered instrumental in the Socceroos' defeat of Uruguay, turning the course of the match when he entered as a substitute. He scored the first penalty for Australia in the deciding penalty shootout, which they went on to win 4-2. Kewell played, somewhat surprisingly given a reported groin injury, in Australia's opening game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Japan in Germany. He did not start for Australia in their second group match against Brazil but again entered as a substitute, missing an early opportunity when Dida punched the ball out dangerously. Kewell was reported to FIFA by referee Markus Merk for verbal abuse after the match but he escaped being sanctioned. In the Croatia vs Australia game Kewell scored Australia's second goal to equal the score at 2-2. Australia only needed a draw to qualify for the second round for the first time, and thus it was probably the most important goal ever scored by an Australian for his country. While the referee, Graham Poll did not notice it, later footage showed Kewell was in an offside position. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard and later The West Australian newspaper referred to Kewell as "King Harry". Due to suspected gout, (later diagnosed as septic arthritis — a bacterial infection in the joints of his left foot) Kewell was unable to play against Italy in the knockout stage, which saw Australia eliminated from the World Cup after Lucas Neill conceded a controversial penalty, which was converted by Francesco Totti in the final seconds of the game.

Michael Beuchamp says the team's real focus is Uzbekistan

MIERLO: The Socceroos arrived here on Monday to prepare for the upcoming international friendly match against the Netherlands on Saturday as a warm-up to the crucial 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on 10 September.

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek put his players through a light training session on Monday afternoon with most players coming off a weekend of action in their domestic league competitions.

“This is where it all started a couple of years back now," said defender Michael Beauchamp, referring to the Dutch training venue where Australia’s lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup started.

"It's definitely good to be back here and I'm looking forward to the game on the weekend."

"It's going to be another tough match, as the Netherlands has world class players.”

"But our real focus is on the match against Uzbekistan.”

"For us it's a very important game to get the team sorted and go on from there.”

"We're very focused on making it to the 2010 World Cup and this game is the first of eight matches which will help get us there."

Meanwhile, injured striker Scott McDonald (groin) and goalkeeper Brad Jones (finger) will not join the camp in the Netherlands.

Saturday, 23 August 2008 The Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC have played out another Hyundai A-League classic at Bluetongue Stadium this evening, with the Mariners defeated 3-2 by their southern rivals in another exceptional endorsement for Australia’s premier football competition.In front of 10,932 spectators – the largest ever attendance for a first home match of a new Hyundai A-League season on the Central Coast, Sasho Petrovski’s brace for the Mariners was matched by Steve Corica’s for Sydney and then bettered by Shannon Cole’s outstanding free kick winner.Both sides traded blows with frequency throughout, as has become commonplace for matches between the Hyundai A-League’s two nearest rivals, with the dismissal of Sydney FC debutant Stuart Musialik midway through the second half capping another dramatic chapter in the history between these two east coast adversaries.The Mariners have now opened their Premiership defence with a draw and a loss and despite having failed to register a win over the past fortnight, can reflect on many positives and look forward to the return to fitness of key players Andre Gumprecht, Dean Heffernan, Mile Jedinak, Dylan Macallister and Greg Owens."It’s not as though we’re not scoring goals, tonight we just gave away two easy goals – I think they made three passes in the six yard box for the second goal," said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna after the match."After we got over that initial fifteen or twenty minutes, we had a few chances but a few things just didn’t bounce for us and it was the same in the second half which was disappointing."The good thing is that we got two goals, but losing three at home is harsh – the first two we could have done something about, the third one we couldn’t have – it was a very well taken free kick."Until Cole’s sensational late winner, the match was very much a tale of two talismen.Corica, the Mariners’ nemesis in the inaugural Hyundai A-League Grand Final in 2006, firstly showed his experience in just the sixth minute with a calm left footed finish from close range after some sound work on the right flank by Alex Brosque.Brosque outpaced the Mariners backline and delivered an inch perfect centre for the Sydney FC veteran, who made no mistake in slotting home the first Bluetongue Stadium goal of season four.Within minutes, however, the Mariners were back level when Petrovski was presented with a chance from the penalty spot after Robbie Middleby and Simon Colosimo brought down Matt Simon.Petrovski duly found the back of the net – his ninth Hyundai A-League goal for the Mariners, after sending Clint Bolton the wrong way to draw the home side level for barely one minute.Corica was on the spot again to slam home an assist from Mark Bridge to hand the visitors the ascendancy once more – the third goal within fifteen minutes inciting memories of last December’s nine goal epic between these two sides for the large gallery on hand.Though Sydney could boast superiority at the break, the were plenty of positives for the Mariners to carry into their half time team talk – particularly the contributions of wide men Adrian Caceres and Ahmad Elrich.Both were busy throughout the opening forty-five and looked the most likely options to provide the Mariners with an equaliser and, indeed, from an Elrich corner towards the end of the half, captain Alex Wilkinson had a rare shot on goal cleared off the line by a Sydney defender.Elrich was again provider early in the second half when Petrovski nodded home a typically precise cross from the Qantas Socceroo, only to have his strike correctly ruled offside by the assistant referee.However, Petrovski did net his second in time and Elrich was predictably the provider.Elrich showed great invention to flick a pass into Petrovski’s path, with the former Sydney FC lynchpin turning defender Jacob Timpano and sliding a low shot past the outstretched arms of Bolton.Musialik was shown the red card soon after following a crass challenge on midfield counterpart Bradley Porter, only for Cole to step up to the mark in the closing stages and net a goal worthy of winning any football match.

Friday, 22 August 2008 Dylan Macallister Getty Images / Brendon Thorne © Getty Images The Central Coast Mariners will potentially be boosted by the return of key pair Nigel Boogaard and Dylan Macallister for tomorrow’s keenly anticipated east coast derby against Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium, while guest player Mark Bosnich has also been included in the Mariners’ extended 17-man squad. Both Boogaard and Macallister missed the Mariners’ 1-1 draw away to the Newcastle Jets in the Mariners’ opening match of the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 season last Friday, but have each trained strongly throughout the week in a bid to make their first starts of the new season. Boogaard has recovered significantly from a groin strain, while Macallister has shown improvement from a rib concern. Two of the Mariners’ other injury worries, Dean Heffernan and Mile Jedinak, will not take part in tomorrow’s fixture but have each progressed with their leg and groin concerns respectively – both players are expected to push for selection against the Queensland Roar in Round 3. Goalkeeper Bosnich, who earlier this week penned a seven round guest stint with the yellow and navy, will compete with incumbent custodian Danny Vukovic for a place in the Mariners’ goal, in what will be Vukovic’s final outing before commencing a five-match suspension. Otherwise, the Mariners are unchanged for their first home match of season four, which pits them against their southern rivals and another team to record an opening round stalemate – Sydney FC. "You can’t get two harder games than Sydney and Newcastle first up," said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna. "Hopefully Nigel Boogaard and Dylan Macallister will be available and they’ll be the only two that are added to last Friday’s squad. "We’re just looking forward to a huge atmosphere and huge crowd on Saturday night." Saturday’s clash between the Mariners and Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium will almost certainly set the benchmark in terms of the largest attendance for the opening match of a new Hyundai A-League season at Bluetongue Stadium. 5,917 watched the Mariners’ historic first ever Hyundai A-League home match in September 2005, before 4,644 turned up to witness a 0-0 draw between the Mariners and the Queensland Roar in the first Bluetongue Stadium match of the 2006/07 season – each of these crowds significantly less than half of the Mariners’ season three average home match attendance. The current largest ever crowd to watch the opening Hyundai A-League match of a new season at Bluetongue Stadium is 9,052, which was the figure in attendance to witness the Mariners defeat the Wellington Phoenix 3-0 in Round 2 of season three. Few Hyundai A-League match ups can rival the amazing history of fixtures between the Mariners and Sydney FC, which have historically been amongst the most entertaining in Australia’s top-flight football competition. In total, 43 goals have been scored in 14 matches between the Mariners and Sydney FC, an average of 3.07 goals per match, up on the Hyundai A-League all-time average of 2.58 goals per game. The highest scoring match in Hyundai A-League history was between the Mariners and Sydney FC – last seasons unforgettable 5-4 epic at Bluetongue Stadium that was won by Sydney FC. Indeed, it is Sydney FC that currently has the edge over their east coast rivals, having won seven of the previous 14 match ups between the two sides, in response to the Mariners’ five triumphs. "Last week Sydney battled hard and grounded out a good performance against Melbourne, who a lot of people are tipping to be up there this season," said McKinna. "Sydney have got a great squad and it doesn’t matter what squad they put on the park, they’re going to be strong. "We beat them well in the Pre-Season Cup game, I’m sure they’ll be still smarting from that game and coming here to get a result."

After watching the game last night against the Ivory Coast, it was a little bit embarrassing to say the least. It is obvious that the coaching is just not working from Graham Arnold and we need to look for someone better. The mistakes being made by the players at this level is just not on, also when it is imperative that Australia needs to win the game to advance to the next stage you would have thought a more attacking formation would have been set, say a 4-3-3 at least. The team needs to learn how to penetrate the ball through the opposition lines and not just hit and hope balls over the top one after another. I feel for the players as they can only do as the coach advices, and it is clear to me that Arnold must take the blame for a poor Olympics campaign. It’s time the FFA got serious about our coaching staff and start employing coaches with real experience. As far as Graham Arnold coaching any Australian sides, I suggest the token is over.

Tonki.

Olyroos go down fighting against ArgentinaSunday, 10 August 2008 The Australian Men’s Olympic Football team will have to win its last group game against Côte d’Ivoire to advance to the quarter finals, after going down gallantly to the tournament favourites Argentina 1-0 at the Shanghai Stadium.A 77th minute strike from Ezequiel Lavezzi gave Argentina a deserved win, although they had to fight hard for it against an Australian side that battled manfully throughout in the steamy conditions.Argentina was the dominant team throughout, with Australia forced to defend for long periods; Olyroo keeper Adam Federici kept busy as Lionel Messi and Juan Riquelme in particular, had numerous attempts on goal.Olyroos coach Graham Arnold made three changes to the starting eleven, dropping fullbacks Trent McClenahan and Nikolai Topor-Stanley, plus Nikita Rukavytsya, with Neil Kilkenny, Billy Celeski and James Troisi all coming in to bolster the midfield.After a nervous start by Federici, where he made a hash of a clearance, he more than redeemed himself with some splendid saves shortly afterwards.Messi missed a chance after seven minutes, shooting over the bar and was then denied by Federici at the near post a further seven minutes in.Minutes later, Riquelme was thankfully wide with a free kick from inside the penalty box, after the referee deemed Federici held onto the ball for longer than six seconds.Australia’s first shot in anger came after 18 minutes, with Stuart Musialik going high and wide and five minutes later Billy Celeski made a great run into the penalty area only to see his shot blocked away for a corner.Federici was again in the action after 29 minutes, saving a Riquelme shot from the edge of the area.After a quiet period, Australia then had a great chance to take the lead with six minutes remaining before half time, when James Troisi played a great ball in behind the defence for Thompson, but the Melbourne Victory striker pulled his left foot shot across the face of goal.Messi and Riquelme then combined to set up the Barcelona striker right on half time, but he pulled his shot fractionally wide of the post.Argentina came out strongly in the second half and had three opportunities in the opening minutes, with a Luciano Monzon shot deflecting wide; Federici saving a Riquelme shot and then Javier Mascherano blasting into the side-netting.Argentina continued to dominate possession and the chances, but Australia survived and had a few moments of their own, none better than presented to Nikita Rukavytsya, just moments after coming on for Thompson in the 72nd minute. Played in behind the defence by Neil Kilkenny, his fierce shot on the angle went into the side-netting.Five minutes later the goal that Argentina’s play had deserved arrived after a quick counter. Riquelme’s incisive run had the Australian defence stretched, the ball played out to Angel Di Maria on the left and his first cross to the back post found Lavezzi, who placed his shot back across Federici.Two minutes progressing to the quarter final stage of the competition.later Rukavytsya had a half chance to equalise, when he received a good ball from Mark Milligan on the edge of the box, but his shot was comfortably saved down low by Oscar Ustari.

But that was then end of any chances for an Australian equaliser, with Argentina closing the game down and almost doubling their lead through Riquelme, whose blistering shot going just wide of Federici’s post.

Australia will play their final group match of the 2008 Olympic Games Men’s Football Tournament against Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Tianjin on Wednesday 13 August (Kick-off 9:45pm AEST). Australia will need a win to have a chance of qualifying.

Friday, 25 July 2008 Coast Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna today confirmed that Qantas Socceroo icon and Mariners triallist Mark Bosnich will start the Mariners’ Pre-Season Cup, Round 2 clash against Sydney FC at Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday.As such, Sunday’s fixture will be Bosnich’s first appearance on Australian soil since representing the Qantas Socceroos against a Brazilian Under 23’s representation at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on 14 November 1999.Furthermore, Bosnich’s last appearance in top-flight competition was for Chelsea in an English Premier League fixture away to Everton on 18 November 2001.The 36-year-old, who today completed his eighth consecutive day of intensive training since first linking with the Mariners last week, is now set to become the fourth ‘keeper ever utilised by the Mariners in a competitive fixture."I’m under no illusions here, I’m here on trial, so forget past reputations, if I can’t do a good job for the team, then that’s not good for the Central Coast Mariners, nor is it good for me," said Bosnich."I’m very thankful to have an opportunity to start on Sunday, at least I’ll know where I’m at in terms of fitness and my sharpness."Of all the Australian football greats to have worn Mariners colours previously, Bosnich’s CV is as impressive and, perhaps superior.Between 1992 and 1999, Bosnich made 179 English Premier League appearances for Birmingham giants Aston Villa, before securing a move to world football heavyweights Manchester United for the 1999/00 campaign.At international level, Bosnich accumulated 17 ‘A’ caps between 1993 and 2000, including starts in many of the iconic Qantas Socceroos fixtures of the past two decades, including unforgettable FIFA World Cup qualifying ties against Argentina in 1993 and Iran in 1997."I came here with no expectations other than to work hard and to make a good impression, hopefully that’s been the case and hopefully that will continue to be the case," said Bosnich."I’m interested to see how I do myself and I can feel the nerves coming up for the first time in a very long time and that’s a good thing."