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Kidman, Verbeek hope Australia has no worries

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03 December 2009 | 00:00 - By Matthew Hall

We are, in the short term, now in the hands of Charlize Theron which even Socceroos coach will agree is aesthetically, at least, a better bet than Pim Verbeek.

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On Friday in Cape Town, the South African actress will pluck balls from four bowls to decide which teams will play each other in next year’s World Cup group stage.

For Australia, reality may reveal this tournament could be three games you’re out or, romantically, a repeat of 2006 where it took some cheeky street soccer from savvy Italian Fabio Grosso to finish off the Socceroos.

The reality versus romance thread strings Australia’s fate together.

An “easy” draw could see the Socceroos line up against South Africa, Algeria, and perhaps Slovakia, three teams Verbeek’s team would not fear.

Alternatively, Australia could find itself bottom of a group that includes Brazil, Ivory Coast, and France.

So please, Charlize, treat us gently with your (no doubt) soft hands.

The seeding system has been based on a mix of FIFA rankings and apparent geography.

FIFA took its October rankings rather than November allowing England to slip ahead of France and into the coveted top bowl.

FIFA says politics did not play a role in deciding seed strategy, which is reasonable, but it could have made as strong a case for France to be in the top eight teams rather than not.

Thierry Henry? France can’t complain.

The geographical seeds represent FIFA’s view of the world. African and South American teams receive a favour being placed in the same pot while Asian, North America, and Oceania create an alliance that would make APEC proud.

This means Australia miss out on – until the dream about knockout stages – of teaching the USA and New Zealand a football lesson.

But the backdrop of this week’s draw has been more pitching for the right to host 2018 or 2022 World Cups.

If we acknowledge that 2018 will go to Europe (which barring bizarre eventualities it will), Australia has put itself in the early front running as a favoured candidate for 2022 with a promotional film fronted by actress Nicole Kidman.

We will forgive selecting an ice queen to offer the world a warm welcome and also hope Kidman’s World Cup pitch for Australia – aimed at an audience of just 24 men from FIFA’s Executive Committee – proves a better box office hit than her dreadful movie Australia.

Certainly, the slick promotional film does an excellent job in painting Australia as the idyllic, friendly, efficient and modern counterpoint to the potential calamities ahead in South Africa next year and Brazil in 2014.

In 2022, it will be the “No Worries” claims Kidman.

Verbeek will be hoping for a similar theme but in 2010 but that’s up to Charlize Theron.

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