Aussies and Japan vie to finish top of group

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MELBOURNE, June 16, 2009 (AFP) - Australia and Japan will field understrength lineups here Wednesday in what is shaping as an anticlimatic finish to their successful World Cup campaigns.

Australia are in the box seat to finish top of Asia's Group A with a two-point advantage over Japan, with both teams already qualified for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

Coach Pim Verbeek is resting team talisman Harry Kewell and shielding some of his players who are under threat of picking up another yellow card and faced being ruled out of the opening World Cup finals game next year.

Japanese counterpart Takeshi Okada is also scaling back and arrived in Australia without injured Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura, Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo and three other European-based players -- Makoto Hasebe and Yoshito Okubo of VfL Wolfsburg and Venlo's Keisuke Honda.

Compounding problems in Japan's buildup to the match since their weekend arrival was an illness that has made captain Yuji Nakazawa unlikely to play against the Socceroos.

The Australians will start as favourites to finish top of the group with the return from suspension of skipper and central defender Lucas Neill and English Premier League stars, Tim Cahill and Vince Grella.

Reports suggest that Verbeek may use the Melbourne game to have a look at Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Nick Carle, Middlesbrough youngster Rhys Williams, who only last month declared his affiliation to Australia rather than Wales, and Shane Stefanutto at left back.

Verbeek said Kewell had a heavy workload in the recent games against Qatar and Bahrain and he would stand him down from the Japan game along with Colchester central defender Chris Coyne.

"Both Harry and Chris played two tough games in a very short period of time," Verbeek said.

Australia also have the added incentive of going through the final phase of Asian qualifying unbeaten and without conceding a goal.

"We've had an amazing run of seven games without conceding a goal, and if we can continue that to eight, we've got a good chance of beating Japan," Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said.

"And that would be the perfect way to finish the qualifying campaign -- on top of the table, unbeaten and without conceding a goal."

Okada is also looking at a prestige Japanese victory before an expected 75,000 Australian crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"We want to give all we have against Australia," said Okada, who is serving his second stint as national coach since taking over from ailing Bosnian tactician Ivica Osim in late 2007.

"We want to wrap up the long qualifying round in style," Okada said.