Shane Smeltz gave New Zealand a shock lead on 13 minutes when he headed home past Marco Amelia.

World Cup holders Italy drew level on 33 minutes when Alberto Gilardino headed Quagliarella’s cross into the net.

Celtic striker Chris Killen restored New Zealand’s lead three minutes before the break with a header in off the underside of the crossbar.

Gilardino netted his second of the contest three minutes after the restart to draw Italy level.

However, New Zealand went in front for a third time on 57 minutes when Killen converted from the penalty spot after Amelia had tripped him inside the box.

Vincenzo Iaquinta came off the bench to level matters on 68 minutes when he latched onto Andrea Pirlo’s pass to score.

The big striker completed the comeback with his second goal five minutes later with a simple tap-in.

Watch the full highlights and goals from the New Zealand v Italy friendly below:

Fulltime
AUSTRALIA 2 (Mile Sterjovski 55m, David Carney 89m) bt BAHRAIN 0 at ANZ Stadium.
Referee: Abdullah Al Hilali.

The win kept them at top of Group A with only one match to play, against Japan in Melbourne next week, and preserved their record of not conceding a goal in the final stage of qualifiers.

Coach Pim Verbeek made seven changes from the starting side that drew with Qatar in the Middle Eastern heat just three days ago, most notably leaving out Tim Cahill, who he said had muscle stiffness, and starting Vince Grella on the bench.

With captain Lucas Neill suspended and regulars including Josh Kennedy, Mark Bresciano and Scott Chipperfield already ruled out, Verbeek handed rare starts to the likes of Mile Jedinak, Mark Milligan and Sterjovski, with goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer handed the captaincy.

Australia should have taken the lead in the first half when striker Scott McDonald missed a golden chance to break his international duck by blasting over from close range.

The Celtic striker, who also came close late in the second half, was played into space by a clever through ball from Brett Holman and had time to take a touch before shooting, but opted to hit his shot first time and blasted it over.

Aside from that and a couple of close calls from Bahrain, there was little to cheer about until Sterjovski chimed in early in the second half with his eighth international goal.

The move which led to the goal started after Carney launched a brilliant long ball to Harry Kewell, who turned it inside with his first touch.

Bahraini midfielder Aaish then made a meal of clearing the ball and Sterjovski pounced to neatly turn it into the net.

The visitors, though, thought they had equalised shortly after when Abdulla Marzooq headed in from Aaish’s free kick but it was correctly ruled offside.

The result was put beyond doubt in the 88th minute through the impressive Carney, whose club career is in limbo after being placed on the Sheffield United’s transfer list.

The wing-back played a looped square ball to midfielder Jason Culina, who struck the left upright with a spectacular bicycle kick, but Carney was there to poke home the scraps for his second international goal.

Bahrain’s loss means they are still likely to need a point from their final match against Uzbekistan to ensure third sport and a play-off against a group B side.

Fulltime
AUSTRALIA 2 (Mile Sterjovski 55m, David Carney 89m) bt BAHRAIN 0 at ANZ Stadium.
Referee: Abdullah Al Hilali.

PIM Verbeek has guided the Socceroos to their second consecutive World Cup Finals despite their game against Qatar ending in a 0-0 draw.

They join Japan who earlier defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 in Tashkent who became the first team to qualify for South Africa, 2010.

Qatar fielded a young team and proved to be a more formidable opponent than during their previous three meetings but the Socceroos could have made it 1-0 when Tim Cahill hit the post with a spectacular bicycle kick just before the half hour mark.

Both sides made a tentative start in front of a small but vocal crowd, with the Socceroos content to keep possession in the hot and humid conditions.

Qatar’s star striker Sebastian Soria Quintana had the first shot of the game blocked in the ninth minute while defender Bilal Mohammed had his headed attempt save by Mark Schwarzer on the ensuing corner.

Harry Kewell created Australia’s first opportunity minutes later when his cross found Josh Kennedy but the big striker could not get enough power on his header.

Kennedy flicked on a Mark Bresciano free kick with his head, before Cahill found himself in space, controlled with his chest and drilled a bicycle kick into the right upright. Kewell started to prove more of a menace after switching to the right side, going close to scoring himself before creating another move which led to Vince Grella firing a volley just over the bar in the 33rd minute.

Watch the full match highlights from the Socceroos v Qatar below:

Neill, who became the Hammers’ highest-paid player when he joined them from Blackburn in 2007 for $141,000 a week, has turned down the offer of a new agreement worth $4 million a year.

Neill, 31,  who is in Dubai with the Australia squad preparing for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar remains tight-lipped on where he will be come next season but was said to be unhappy with only being offered 75% of his current wage plus only a 1-year extension.

Only six players are left to complete the extended squad, which is basing itself in Dubai this week before flying to Doha on Friday ahead of the crucial match.

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek put 22 players through a solid training session on Monday evening, with only midfielder Scott Chipperfield and striker Bruce Djite restricted to light duties due to minor problems.

The players still to join the squad are Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Mile Jedinak, Dario Vidisic, Matthew Spiranovic and Michael Petkovic and all players should be on deck by Wednesday morning.

Several players, including Chris Coyne, Jason Culina and Carl Valeri, have been in Dubai for more than a week in order to acclimatise to the Middle Eastern heat.

The conditions promise to be a huge factor in the Socceroos’ quest to officially clinch World Cup qualification, with temperatures of close to 45 degrees Celsius forecast up until gameday.

Midfielder Richard Garcia said even those that had longer to acclimatise to the conditions would find the going tough.

“It’s pretty hard to play in this heat, regardless of how long you’ve been here,” Garcia said.

“It’s always a tall order to play in 44-45 degree heat so it’s going to be a tough game and we’re preparing ourselves for that.”

Verbeek has several significant selection decisions to make this week with Luke Wilkshire suspended, Craig Moore rested and Tim Cahill in doubt.

It means fringe players including Garcia, Mark Milligan, and new face Rhys Williams could come into contention for starting berths.

“I’m just happy to be in the squad and whatever comes comes,” Garcia said.

Cahill limped from a tackle in the 6oth-minute when he clashed with Chelsea defender Alex.

Despite being affected, Everton’s star player finished the game and will undergo tests before flying out to join the Aussie squad in Dubai.

The Roos, who need just one point to qualify for the WC Finals in South Africa in June 2010, will face Qatar, Bahrain and Japan during next month’s Super-June football.

Verbeek has hinted that he would rest Cahill for the match against Qatar even before his latest injury setback but Cahill wants to play the 90 minutes.

“It was a bang on my hip. It’s quite sore. It was just holding me back a bit. I couldn’t really sprint or run, but you just deal with it, don’t you? It’s pretty sore, but you get loads of knocks, and just get on with it.”

Cahill said after the defeat that Everton needed to add quality to their side and retain the services of the current squad to build on their FA Cup experience.

The lack of injured talisman Mikel Arteta was particularly critical for Everton as they struggled to keep the ball throughout, leading to Cahill remaining on the periphery of the game.

All but one of the squad play in foreign leagues. Jason Čulina, who has signed with Gold Coast United FC, is the exception.

Rhys Williams and Dario Vidosic were called up to the national team for the first time after impressing for their respective clubs.

Williams has previously represented the Wales national under-21 football team on ten occasions but recently declared his desire to be selected in the Australian senior side.

Long-time national team member Mark Viduka was left out of the 30-man squad. Coach Verbeek gave Viduka a week to decide whether he wants to be part of Australia’s plans in the future.

“He has this week to make up his mind,” Verbeek said. “I have one spot open and that’s the spot for him. It’s up to him. We all know his situation at Newcastle, a very tough year, a long time injured, missed a lot of games, played the final five or six games in a row, relegated, end of contract and not the youngest player anymore, so I think he has enough things on his mind. If he makes the decision not to play anymore, then we have to respect his decision.”

Nick Carle, Brad Jones, Adrian Madaschi, Mark Milligan, Matthew Spiranovic and Shane Steffanuto, who have been out of the side for varying lengths of time, all return for the qualifiers.

Australia currently head Group A in round four of Asian Football Confederation qualifying. They need to one point (a draw) from their remaining three games to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

All Qantas Socceroos matches will be broadcast “Live and Exclusive” on FOX SPORTS.
QANTAS SOCCEROOS SQUAD – Wednesday 27 May 2009
NAME CLUB COUNTRY “A”- Internationals (goals)
Mark BRESCIANO U.S. Citta di Palermo ITALY 48 (11)
Jacob BURNS FC Unirea Valahorum ROMANIA 9 (0)
Tim CAHILL Everton ENGLAND 31 (14)
Nick CARLE Crystal Palace FC ENGLAND 7 (0)
David CARNEY Sheffield United FC ENGLAND 18 (1)
Scott CHIPPERFIELD FC Basel SWITZERLAND 60 (12)
Chris COYNE Colchester United FC ENGLAND 5 (0)
Jason CULINA Gold Coast United AUSTRALIA 38 (1)
Bruce DJITE Genclerbirligi SK TURKEY 7 (0)
Richard GARCIA Hull City FC ENGLAND 4 (0)
Vincenzo GRELLA Blackburn Rovers ENGLAND 37 (0)
Brett HOLMAN AZ Alkmaar HOLLAND 23 (1)
Mile JEDINAK Genclerbirligi SK TURKEY 4 (0)
Brad JONES Middlesbrough FC ENGLAND 1 (0)
Josh KENNEDY Karlsruher SC GERMANY 12 (6)
Harry KEWELL Galatasaray SK TURKEY 39 (13)
Adrian MADASCHI Portogruaro-Summaga ITALY 4 (2)
Scott McDONALD Celtic FC SCOTLAND 11 (0)
Mark MILLIGAN Shanghai Shenhua CHINA 6 (0)
Lucas NEILL West Ham United FC ENGLAND 48 (0)
Jade NORTH Incheon United FC KOREA REPUBLIC 23 (0)
Michael PETKOVIC Sivasspor TURKEY 6 (0)
Mark SCHWARZER Fulham FC ENGLAND 65 (0)
Matthew SPIRANOVIC FC Nurnberg GERMANY 2 (0)
Shane STEFANUTTO FC Lyn Oslo NORWAY 1 (0)
Mile STERJOVSKI Derby County FC ENGLAND 39 (7)
Carl VALERI U.S. Grosseto FC ITALY 16 (0)
Dario VIDOSIC FC Nurnberg GERMANY -
Luke WILKSHIRE FK Dinamo Moscow RUSSIA 33 (0)
Rhys WILLIAMS Middlesbrough FC ENGLAND -

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While national coach Pim Verbeek will leave the door open to the big striker when he names an extended 30-man squad for the final three qualifiers against Qatar in Doha on June 7, Bahrain in Sydney on June 10 and Japan in Melbourne on June 17, it appears unlikely he will take up the offer.

It is believed Viduka, who is considering his options after Newcastle United was relegated from the English Premier League to The Championship, is not keen to be involved in the Qatar match.

And his international and club future beyond that remains up in the air.

An insider said yesterday he wasn’t sure whether Viduka wants to play at all next year.

“He has issues with his weight and I don’t know whether he has the burning desire any more,” he said.

That news comes on top of a suggestion Viduka won’t finish his career in the A-League after he confided he is wary of putting himself through the same pain and drama that engulfed John Aloisi last season.

Viduka admitted recently to Perth Glory coach David Mitchell that he had watched with disappointment the developments which saw Aloisi jeered, abused and berated by fans and criticised by the media after failing to produce the goals expected of him in his first season with Sydney FC.

A $2.8million marquee signing, the former Socceroo striker struggled with injury and form and managed just two goals in 16 matches as Sydney missed out on the finals.

A shattered and devastated Aloisi was eventually relegated to the bench amid calls for Sydney to cancel his contract.

Mitchell spoke to Viduka in Newcastle last month and said the striker had mentioned what had happened to his World Cup teammate.

“I think Mark figures he would be on a hiding to nothing if he comes back,” Mitchell said yesterday.

He said he would not be surprised if Viduka stayed with Newcastle to try to help it get back to the Premier League.

“I know a few of the coaches there and they have a huge regard for Mark … they believe he has been one of the best players to come to the club,” Mitchell said.

“I don’t think he’ll come back to Australia to play.”

Mitchell said Perth would not be in the market to sign him, given it is close to securing a marquee deal with a Belgian international.

Gold Coast United (Jason Culina), North Queensland (Robbie Fowler), Sydney FC (Aloisi), Newcastle Jets (Joel Griffiths), Melbourne Victory (Archie Thompson) and Brisbane Roar (Craig Moore) are already committed with marquee signings.

Adelaide United is without a marquee player. But coach Aurelio Vidmar does not believe Viduka, 34 in October, is ready to return home to play.