Mixed feelings for Oz coach Verbeek after ‘great performance’ to beat Serbia

CAPE TOWN - Australia coach Pim Verbeek has said that his team’s late surge to grab a World Cup last 16 spot has left him with mixed ‘feelings’.

Australia produced their best performance of the tournament to beat Serbia 2-1, yet it fell short as Germany and Ghana went through to the knockout phase.

“I have mixed feelings now. It was a great result and a great performance, but we are not in the final 16,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Verbeek, as saying.

“That was the plan when we came to South Africa, but it didn’t work out that way and I cannot blame any one of the players, who worked very hard last week when everybody else thought it was over,” he added.

He further admitted that it was Australia’s horror 4-0 opening game loss to Germany that proved the fatal flaw for the Socceroos.

“It’s not the first day I have been thinking about that result. Losing 4-0 was not in the planning. In the end the goal difference made the difference and we can blame that on giving those goals away against Germany,” Verbeek said.

“That can happen in football. We played one very poor game and that cost us a lot. We played a great game against Ghana and tonight against Serbia,” he added.

Australia finished Group D on four points with Ghana, but the Africans progressed on a superior three-goal difference and will play the United States in the round of 16 at Rustenburg on Saturday. (ANI)