Bring on the U.S.

Tonight Australia takes on the might of the USA ranked 14 in the world, in what should be a very good indicator of where the Socceroos are in terms of final preperations for the all important first world cup game against Germany. The media indicates that the full squad should be available in time for the German clash, however Carney, Holman and Emerton remain unavailable until training commences tomorrow. It is believed that one H Kewell will be named on the bench after completing a training match overnight.

It was interesting to watch highlights of training and the Australians working on a regime to combat the might of "jabulani". One could have been forgiven for thinking it was a local junior side utilising Australia's training facility. Yes that's right, maybe work on shape, possibly work on the game plan against Germany....no, teams are having to practice long distance passing because of the most dynamic football ever seen on this planet. Turning more than a Shane Warne leggy, the now famous jabulani has everybody baffled and we will see who has the last laugh in less than a week, when South Africa kicks off the greatest sporting event on this planet.

On a personal note, work is now complete for a 4 week period. Obviously at this point with 3 more sleeps until departure, the travelling party has turned it's focus in providing the greatest support it possibly can to our national team. Clearly the group are leaving no stones unturned to be the best possible supporters and have taken a leaf out of the Socceroos training manual to taper our training for optimum performance on the 13th of this month against German supporters. If it's good enough for the Socceroos, it is good enough for us I figure, so there may well be some fatigue over the next couple of days, however the group is managing to work hard and of course is sustaining a high level of fluid intake. Given tonight we cannot be on the ground in Johannesburg, there will be a practice run at one of our many training venues, with the first rehearsal of the obligatory team tunes a must given the limited knowledge of a few team members.

52 bottles of jim on the wall, 52 bottles of jim......