Well, what a great World Cup it has been so far.
The Socceroos have made the nation sit up and take notice that soccer is a sport worthy of ranking up with the other football codes in this country.
Not only did Australia make it through the group stages and take it right up to one of the world's powerhouse teams, Italy, they did it in a fashion that showed everything positive about the game.
The Aussie boys were committed, tackled hard, worked hard but also kept the ball intelligently and created good scoring opportunities.
It is unfortunate that Australia were eliminated as they were but it leads to a very pertinent point when players are defending.
After a fantastic tournament it was hard on Lucan Neill to be the one to give away the penalty that ultimately cost Australia dearly. Now whether Neill fouled the Italian player or not is a discussion that will continue on for a long time to come. However, the fact that Neill had already gone to ground made the decision an easier one for the referee to give.
As soon as a player goes to ground they have to ensure they make contact with the ball, otherwise at best they are out of the game and at worst they will give away a free kick (or penalty) and may receive a yellow or red card. It is easy to say in hindsight but by jockeying Neill would have given the referee less of a chance to give the penalty.
Sure there will be times when you need to make a sliding tackle but you have to be 100% sure that you will get the ball. If you are unsure of this then stay on your feet, jockey and wait for support from your team mates.
Finally, congratulations to the Socceroos and thank you for providing the game in this country with a bright future.
