With the last five places in the 2006 World Cup being contested on three continents, the first casualty is decorum.

Uruguay plays Australia, with the first leg in Montevideo on Saturday and the second in Sydney on Wednesday. Between them are oceans of rancor, prompting Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who recently became Australia's coach, to say, "This is a sport, not a war."

Hiddink is a man with two jobs, simultaneously guiding PSV Eindhoven through the Champions League and seeking to do for the Socceroos what he did for the Netherlands and South Korea at previous World Cups.

Relationships between the Australians and the Uruguayans are so embittered, however, that Australia prepared for the first leg across the River Plate in Argentina, alleging that Uruguayans spat at them and intimidated them at a previous elimination four years ago. The Socceroos will arrive and depart from Montevideo surrounded by a cordon of armed policemen.

The soccer rivals have traded accusations of trying to set the kickoff time on Saturday to make the long journey to Sydney for the second leg as debilitating as possible for the other. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, had to settle the time argument.

Uruguay has a long, proud World Cup heritage; Australia is desperate to reach only its second World Cup. The affair is exacerbated by the fact that FIFA promised, then retracted, automatic qualification for the winner of the Oceania region, which Australia dominates.

While Sepp Blatter was campaigning to remain FIFA president, he assured Oceania of a place. When the votes were in, that place was withdrawn, putting Australia into a playoff with Uruguay, the fifth-place team in South America.

In the world rankings, Uruguay is 17th, and Australia is 54th. Aussie athleticism versus Latin skill is one way of looking at it, but both sides have a reputation for rough play when the chips are down.

"Our advantage," suggested Alvaro Recoba, Uruguay's midfield player, "is that we are Uruguay - one of the teams that have won the World Cup. Uruguay is Uruguay and must qualify."

Mark Viduka, the Australian striker based in England, has another view. He knew the heartbreak of losing playoffs to Iran in 1997 and to Uruguay in 2001.

"The squad we have now," he said, "is better than four years ago. A lot of our players have more international experience with club and country - and our new manager, Hiddink, is amazing."

By the time the ball rolls in Montevideo, the first legs of the other four playoffs will be finished.

The reputation of Spain, and the job of Coach Luis Aragones, is on the line in Madrid against Slovakia. By fielding Raúl and Fernando Torres and José Antonio Reyes in a three-pronged strike force, Spain seeks at least a two-goal lead to take to the second leg.

"Spain is the favorite," said Slovakia's coach, Dusan Galis. "But so were the Russians," he added, referring to the team Slovakia ousted in the qualifiers.

The other half of what was, until 1993, Czechoslovakia - the Czech Republic - is also on the brink of the finals. Its wily coach, Karel Brueckner, has persuaded Pavel Nedved, 33, to come out of retirement to play in Oslo on Saturday.

There, the bone of contention is the field. The Czechs complained that it is bare of grass, a mud bath, after men's and women's Norwegian Cup finals in heavy rain last weekend.

"We have to be very cynical," said Norway's midfielder Morten Gamst Pederson. "That doesn't mean the whole team defending, but I don't think the Norwegian people will complain for a minute if we reach the World Cup, no matter how we do it."

Pragmatism also speaks to Switzerland and Turkey, which meet in Bern. The Swiss are difficult to beat but draw more than they win. The Turks, third at the last World Cup, are unpredictable and depleted by injuries and suspensions, so Coach Fatih Terim has recalled the veteran striker Hakan Sukur.

With the clock ticking, mischief is afoot. Terim complained that Swiss media were "trying to stir the atmosphere" after reports of Turkey's hotel being surrounded by security, allegedly to keep players from going out to bars.

None of this approaches the suspicion in Port of Spain, where Trinidad and Tobago meets Bahrain in a playoff. Claims abound, including one that Bahrain offered millions of dollars to build a training camp in Jamaica and suggestions that Jack Warner, the Trinidadian who is a FIFA vice president, assisted Bahrain with video footage of his own country's team.

"The only thing we try to do is play a good game to beat Bahrain," said Leo Beenhakker, the Dutchman who coaches Trinidad and Tobago.

With the last five places in the 2006 World Cup being contested on three continents, the first casualty is decorum.

Uruguay plays Australia, with the first leg in Montevideo on Saturday and the second in Sydney on Wednesday. Between them are oceans of rancor, prompting Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who recently became Australia's coach, to say, "This is a sport, not a war."

Hiddink is a man with two jobs, simultaneously guiding PSV Eindhoven through the Champions League and seeking to do for the Socceroos what he did for the Netherlands and South Korea at previous World Cups.

Relationships between the Australians and the Uruguayans are so embittered, however, that Australia prepared for the first leg across the River Plate in Argentina, alleging that Uruguayans spat at them and intimidated them at a previous elimination four years ago. The Socceroos will arrive and depart from Montevideo surrounded by a cordon of armed policemen.

The soccer rivals have traded accusations of trying to set the kickoff time on Saturday to make the long journey to Sydney for the second leg as debilitating as possible for the other. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, had to settle the time argument.

Uruguay has a long, proud World Cup heritage; Australia is desperate to reach only its second World Cup. The affair is exacerbated by the fact that FIFA promised, then retracted, automatic qualification for the winner of the Oceania region, which Australia dominates.

While Sepp Blatter was campaigning to remain FIFA president, he assured Oceania of a place. When the votes were in, that place was withdrawn, putting Australia into a playoff with Uruguay, the fifth-place team in South America.

In the world rankings, Uruguay is 17th, and Australia is 54th. Aussie athleticism versus Latin skill is one way of looking at it, but both sides have a reputation for rough play when the chips are down.

"Our advantage," suggested Alvaro Recoba, Uruguay's midfield player, "is that we are Uruguay - one of the teams that have won the World Cup. Uruguay is Uruguay and must qualify."

Mark Viduka, the Australian striker based in England, has another view. He knew the heartbreak of losing playoffs to Iran in 1997 and to Uruguay in 2001.

"The squad we have now," he said, "is better than four years ago. A lot of our players have more international experience with club and country - and our new manager, Hiddink, is amazing."

By the time the ball rolls in Montevideo, the first legs of the other four playoffs will be finished.

The reputation of Spain, and the job of Coach Luis Aragones, is on the line in Madrid against Slovakia. By fielding Raúl and Fernando Torres and José Antonio Reyes in a three-pronged strike force, Spain seeks at least a two-goal lead to take to the second leg.

"Spain is the favorite," said Slovakia's coach, Dusan Galis. "But so were the Russians," he added, referring to the team Slovakia ousted in the qualifiers.

The other half of what was, until 1993, Czechoslovakia - the Czech Republic - is also on the brink of the finals. Its wily coach, Karel Brueckner, has persuaded Pavel Nedved, 33, to come out of retirement to play in Oslo on Saturday.

There, the bone of contention is the field. The Czechs complained that it is bare of grass, a mud bath, after men's and women's Norwegian Cup finals in heavy rain last weekend.

"We have to be very cynical," said Norway's midfielder Morten Gamst Pederson. "That doesn't mean the whole team defending, but I don't think the Norwegian people will complain for a minute if we reach the World Cup, no matter how we do it."

Pragmatism also speaks to Switzerland and Turkey, which meet in Bern. The Swiss are difficult to beat but draw more than they win. The Turks, third at the last World Cup, are unpredictable and depleted by injuries and suspensions, so Coach Fatih Terim has recalled the veteran striker Hakan Sukur.

With the clock ticking, mischief is afoot. Terim complained that Swiss media were "trying to stir the atmosphere" after reports of Turkey's hotel being surrounded by security, allegedly to keep players from going out to bars.

None of this approaches the suspicion in Port of Spain, where Trinidad and Tobago meets Bahrain in a playoff. Claims abound, including one that Bahrain offered millions of dollars to build a training camp in Jamaica and suggestions that Jack Warner, the Trinidadian who is a FIFA vice president, assisted Bahrain with video footage of his own country's team.

"The only thing we try to do is play a good game to beat Bahrain," said Leo Beenhakker, the Dutchman who coaches Trinidad and Tobago.

With the last five places in the 2006 World Cup being contested on three continents, the first casualty is decorum.

Uruguay plays Australia, with the first leg in Montevideo on Saturday and the second in Sydney on Wednesday. Between them are oceans of rancor, prompting Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who recently became Australia's coach, to say, "This is a sport, not a war."

Hiddink is a man with two jobs, simultaneously guiding PSV Eindhoven through the Champions League and seeking to do for the Socceroos what he did for the Netherlands and South Korea at previous World Cups.

Relationships between the Australians and the Uruguayans are so embittered, however, that Australia prepared for the first leg across the River Plate in Argentina, alleging that Uruguayans spat at them and intimidated them at a previous elimination four years ago. The Socceroos will arrive and depart from Montevideo surrounded by a cordon of armed policemen.

The soccer rivals have traded accusations of trying to set the kickoff time on Saturday to make the long journey to Sydney for the second leg as debilitating as possible for the other. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, had to settle the time argument.

Uruguay has a long, proud World Cup heritage; Australia is desperate to reach only its second World Cup. The affair is exacerbated by the fact that FIFA promised, then retracted, automatic qualification for the winner of the Oceania region, which Australia dominates.

While Sepp Blatter was campaigning to remain FIFA president, he assured Oceania of a place. When the votes were in, that place was withdrawn, putting Australia into a playoff with Uruguay, the fifth-place team in South America.

In the world rankings, Uruguay is 17th, and Australia is 54th. Aussie athleticism versus Latin skill is one way of looking at it, but both sides have a reputation for rough play when the chips are down

Source: www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/11/sports/soccer.php