Soccer: Aussies fall at last step

Australia's elimination from the World Cup finals has raised fears for the domestic future of the game in the four years to the next qualification phase.

Uruguay claimed the 32nd and final berth in Montevideo yesterday, with a 3-0 win over Australia in the second leg of their South American-Oceania playoff.

The home team secured their first appearance in the World Cup since 1990 after Australia won the first leg by just 1-0 last week in Melbourne.

Dario Silva, playing only 12 days after dislocating his shoulder, broke through in the 14th minute as Uruguay levelled the aggregate score.

After both sides wasted a succession of chances, substitute Richard Morales headed a decisive goal in the 71st minute.

Morales, who spent two brief spells in police custody in the past year, added a third from close range in injury time.

It was Australia's first defeat in a qualifier since they lost to Argentina in 1993, 15 matches ago. They went out in 1997 to Iran on away goals after drawing 2-2 in Melbourne.

Uruguay dominated most of the match against the over-physical Socceroos for whom only Harry Kewell shone.

Soccer Australia was hoping for qualification to ease crippling $A1.7 million ($2.12 million) debts, and with a lifeline to the finals in Japan and Korea now not available, the avenue for serious money-making games has disappeared until at least 2005.

Qualification would have earned Soccer Australia $A12 million in prizemoney from the sport's governing body, Fifa.

Australia have not been to the finals since 1974 and the present team, all of whom play overseas, are considered the best the country has produced.

"Obviously, the players are very, very disappointed, as I am as well," coach Frank Farina said.

"After the first leg, it was the best position we have been in terms of qualifying.

"Obviously we're very disappointed, but the battle goes on."

Former Socceroo Craig Foster said: "It's just so sad for the game, sad for the fans ... and, most of all, sad for the boys. It's a wound that doesn't heal."

Another former Socceroo, Robbie Slater, conceded that the loss would damage the game's progress in the country. "It is very hard to talk about, it's hard to take," he said. "Certainly it is not a forward step, [but] the game will survive."

Slater bemoaned Australia's difficult qualifying route to the finals. The team had to win a home and away series with the fifth-placed South American team after winning the Oceania regional series.

The result is bound to stir the long-running debate about whether Oceania deserves an automatic slot at the cup.

Former Socceroo captain Charlie Yankos said the Uruguayans deserved credit for the win.

"They went out there and controlled the game, and as soon as they scored that second goal they just shut up shop, and that was it, we weren't going to get in at all."

Australia's domestic National Soccer League has been weakened by the loss of more than 100 players to overseas clubs, and exacerbated by the exit of many of the nation's promising juniors to Europe.

Several NSL clubs have gone to the wall financially over the past few years.

- REUTERS

The qualifiers

The 32 teams to make next year's finals, with the number of appearances and the last time they appeared at the finals in brackets:

Holders: France (10, 1998).

Co-hosts: South Korea (5, 1998), Japan (1, 1998).

Europe: Belgium (10, 1998), Croatia (1, 1998), Denmark (2, 1998), England (10, 1998), Germany (14, 1998), Ireland (2, 1994), Italy (14, 1998), Poland (5, 1986), Portugal (2, 1986), Russia (8, 1994), Slovenia (first appearance), Spain (10, 1998), Sweden (9, 1994), Turkey (1, 1954).

South America: Argentina (12, 1998), Brazil (16, 1998), Ecuador (first appearance), Paraguay (5, 1998), Uruguay (9, 1990).

Africa: Cameroon (4, 1998), Nigeria (2, 1998), Senegal (first appearance), South Africa (1, 1998), Tunisia (2, 1998).

North and Central America and the Caribbean: Costa Rica (1, 1990), Mexico (11, 1998), United States (6, 1998).

Asia: China (first appearance), Saudi Arabia (2, 1998).