Tragedy for Kewell, but hope for the Socceroos

The Australian media have already written the headlines - pride in the jersey restored and all that. It was a much improved performance from Australia, in just about every position. I was scathing about Lucas Neill after the Germany game, so I should start by saying he was excellent against Ghana. So was Craig Moore, who played to a level I really didn't think he was capable of any more.

Ghana let Australia come at them, and, thankfully, Australia accepted the invitation even when down to 10 men. Just like in the Germany Serbia game, it was the team with 10 men that found an extra gear and pushed for the win right to the end. On this evidence, Australia have at least a realistic chance of beating Serbia, especially with their best player back on the field.

The major talking point will of course be Harry Kewell's red card. It was probably a dismissal within the letter of the law, but Harry can count himself desperately unlucky. The ball was goal bound, and Kewell's arm stopped it. The strict interpretation of the law is that any foul that clearly denies a goal scoring opportunity is a red card. So if it was a handball, then the red card was virtually automatic.

The handball rules is a controversial one. The general interpretation is that there should be some intent, but, of the three players that have given away penalties for handball in this group, none looked intentional. Another interpretation is that handball is when the hand moves to the ball, but not when the ball moves to hand. Sounds good in theory, but is hard to apply in real life, as in almost every case, both hand and ball are moving.

The fair result would surely have been a penalty, but no card at all for Kewell. For a player to be sent off for an unintentional act does not reflect the purpose of red cards, nor does it contribute to a just outcome of the match. Automatic red cards for the last defender or a player who denies a goal scoring opportunity are intended as a punishment and deterrent for professional fouls. An accidental handball does not deserve such punishment, and you can hardly deter players from the unintentional. In the past, red cards were reserved for violent or deliberate acts of cheating. At this World Cup, where there has been a red card in every group D game, without a single act of malice, misjudging the flight of the ball or the timing of a tackle seems to be enough.

After the game against Serbia, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger criticised the refereeing when speaking to German reporters, declaring that it can not be that there is a red card in every game. He was referring not just to the Klose sending off in that game but also Tim Cahill's red in the previous game. Harry Kewell's unfortunate demise supports the same argument. Sadly the number of games influenced by the referee at the World Cup is beginning to mount.

If Australia bow out in the next game, it will be a sad end to Kewell's World Cup career. While he has always been a source of frustration for Socceroos fans, he has also been Australia's best player for over a decade. This is the fourth World Cup campaign in which he has been a central figure for the Australians. No other player at the World Cup can claim that level of longevity, which is ironic for a player whose career has been defined by the frailty of his body. At his best he was Australia's only genuine world beater, a world class winger who, as a teenager, set the English Premier League alight at Leeds. As I pointed out in my last post, he has been subject of fierce and sometimes unfair criticism in this campaign. He deserves at least one chance to answer his critics with his feet. But he knows as well as anyone that football has little room for sentiment.

So what are Australia's chances from here? Better than they look at first glance. Australia must beat Serbia to have any chance. Not easy, but not impossible. Serbia are as defensive a side as Australia. They need a win too, so both sides will be forced to open up and play a game not entirely natural to them. Australia showed against Ghana that they can do that - with Serbia it remains a question mark. If Australia do win, they will go through if either a) Germany lose by any margin, or b) Germany beat Ghana, and Germany and Australia's combined winning margin is 5 goals or more.

Ghana don't look as strong as their position suggests. In two games they have only scored from the penalty spot, and against ten man Australia they looked very much under pressure, defending deep and limiting their attacking play to shots from long range, instead of exploiting the man advantage and pressuring Australia. If Germany click the way they did against Australia, a big win is not out of the question, and that would open the door for Australia.

In other news, I can't help but comment on England's performance so far. England looked untouchable in qualifying, and hopes, always high, were accompanied by a degree of actual belief in England that this year could be a good one. After a goalless draw against Algeria England were booed off the field by their own fans, and a look at the newspaper headlines there suggests the country is truly angry about the teams poor performances so far.

If I knew why England underperform at tournaments so regularly, I would head over to blighty and collect Fabio Capello's six million pound salary. I have some thoughts, but at the moment England are still in the tournament, and it would be premature to write their eulogy. But I will say that for the next game, Capello should drop either Lampard or Gerrard. Both of them are fantastic attacking central midfielders, but a team only has room for one of those. Both players have demonstrated that they can not play together. It's understandable that no coach wants to drop such a good player, but you simply have to accept that they play the same position, and there is only room for one of them. Sadly, both of them have shown that they do not have the flexibility to be effective in a different position. The Spanish have three great goalkeepers - they still have to leave two on the bench - England have to do the same. If it were me, I would drop Gerrard, but as Capello has given him the captain's armband, I suppose you have to keep him and drop Lampard.