Are any of the players from last weekend’s A-League final going to the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa?
A-League stars looking to book their place in the FIFA World Cup finals now have a very limited amount of game-time to prove to Pim Verbeek that they deserve a seat on the plane to South Africa.
Only Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United players will still be playing competative matches in the Asian Champions League.
Saturday-s encapsulating A-League Grand Final threw up some drama in the first ever final matchup between the league-s biggest clubs but how many players from the two sides will be in South Africa come June?
The Australian showpiece game definitely threw up names such as Colosimo, Brosque, Kruse, Thompson, Cole, Bolton and Musialik for starters.
Looking through these names, Simon Colosimo and Archie Thompson look to have been almost certain of a place in the squad but the others would still be unsure.
At the post match press conference, Simon Colosimo spoke of how he had almost achieved everything this season.
“It-s all ticked off so far! I-ve played every game injury free, won the minor premiership and now the final.”
He-s now heading to Korea to prepare for the world cup and by being in the squad in South Africa, he says “I-m fulfilling the biggest dream of my life.”
The story-s agonizingly opposite for Archie Thompson, who suffered from a heartbreaking injury within the first 20 minutes.
The Victory star man ruptured the anterior cruciate and medial ligaments in his left knee, meaning he-ll miss the rest of the year, let alone the world cup. You can-t help but feel for the skillful and charismatic forward.
Thompson said “I-m so disappointed” but the defiant striker went on to say
“what doesn-t kill you can only make you stronger.”
As for others, Clint Bolton-s performance between the sticks, including an excellent penalty save, couldn-t have done his chances any harm and Alex Brosque will certainly be knocking on Verbeek-s door, especially with no Thompson available.
Shannan Cole should also be in with a shout after making his debut against Indonesia and with Stuart Musialik and Robbie Kruse putting in solid displays in the final, competition-s sure to be fierce.
Overall, the players face an eager wait to see what coach Pim Verbeek feels about his final squad and how he decides to fill it.
