Aussies work on secret plans to beat Brazil (Reuters) Updated: 2006-06-16 20:38 Australia coach Guus Hiddink
took the Socceroos behind closed doors on Friday to start piecing together his
master plan to beat world champions Brazil.
The Australians have been talking down their chances of beating Brazil in
Sunday's Group F match in Munich but are still quietly confident of pulling off
an upset following their euphoric 3-1 win over Japan in Kaiserslautern on
Monday.
"Obviously there is a little bit of respect because they are world champions,
but you just go out there and you play to what you're capable of playing,"
Australia striker Harry Kewell told reporters before training.
"You're not going to go into a game thinking you're going to lose. You're
going to go in thinking you're going to win it, and that's how we are going to
start."
Socceroos captain Mark Viduka said his team had detected some weaknesses in
Brazil's game during their laboured 1-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday.
"Everybody wants to do well against Brazil but the game against Croatia
showed that they are vulnerable in close," Viduka said.
"I thought Croatia should have got something out of that game because they
were the better team."
Defender Lucas Neill said there was a chance the Australians could sneak
under Brazil's guard because the South Americans might possibly underestimate
them.
"We're technically not as gifted as them but maybe we are a little bit more
hungry," he said.
"They've been there and done that so many times and we've got more to prove
than them so it's like David and Goliath I suppose."
Hiddink, a shrewd tactician who took the Netherlands and South Korea to the
semi-finals at the previous two World Cups, has kept everyone, including his own
players, guessing about his plans for the match.
The crafty Dutchman hinted that he might field a weakened team to save his
best players for the final group match against Croatia but no one really knows
what he has in store for the world champions.
"Even I haven't got a clue," Viduka told reporters before Friday's closed
practice session at Oehringen. "But we're going to work on some tactical things
today."
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