Socceroos defender Lucas Neill will be given the chance to restore his reputation when Australia meets Japan in a sudden-death Asian Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Socceroo defender Mark Milligan may make way for Lucas Neill.
Neill, castigated by a fuming coach Graham Arnold after Australia's embarrassing loss to Iraq last Friday night in which he was given a red card for a petulant show of dissent, is certain to take his place in central defence.
Despite an admirable display by a young back three, that denied an energetic Thailand strike force on Monday night, Neill will return.
The 29-year-old has already delivered his worst performance in a Socceroos shirt at this tournament and found himself at the centre of a storm that suggested there was a huge rift in the Australian camp.
The unlucky man is likely to be Sydney FC player Mark Milligan who, despite an outstanding effort against Thailand, is prepared to be benched by Arnold.
"Whether I get picked for the Japan game, well, I have no idea, mate," Milligan said.
"I'm not the coach. We have Lucas coming back and all the boys played wonderfully. We were brought in to do a job and were lucky enough to get our chance. I think it is good that Arnie and the coaching staff now know if they need us again we can go out and do a job for them."
Arnold introduced Milligan and Michael Beauchamp into the centre of defence while David Carney also played in a defensive role after Neill was suspended and Patrick Kisnorbo was dropped after a similarly poor game.
Beauchamp not only defended gamely but opened the scoring for Australia in the 21st minute with a pinpoint header.
If he does miss out, Milligan, 21, could consider himself very unlucky after winning much praise from team-mates including goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, captain Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill.
"All three (defenders) were brilliant," Schwarzer said. "But Millsy in particular was superb. He had a fantastic game and he should be very proud of himself.
"Michael got a header and Carney did extremely well. All three stepped up and showed a lot of spirit and character."
Viduka could not hide his delight with the performance of his players, in particular Milligan, Beauchamp and Carney.
"I am very proud of the boys, especially the younger ones ... they were terrific," Viduka said.
Viduka was judged man of the match for his brace of goals despite admitting he thought his performance was "average".
However, there were few among his team-mates who did not think that Milligan was head and shoulders the best Socceroo on the park.
Milligan seemed to be everywhere in defence. In a quality all-round performance, he put in timely and courageous tackles, covered up the mistakes of others and overcame fatigue to still be running at the end.
What made the performance even more remarkable is that Milligan and Carney are not overseas stars but play in the A-League with Sydney FC. It sent a message that not only does Australia have some exciting talent coming through but that the A-League is a wonderful vehicle in fostering that development.
"I am sure this will do wonders for the A-League," Milligan said.
Arnold has a huge dilemma. It is inconceivable Neill will be left out, yet such was the strength of the Australian backline that some critics believe the West Ham defender does not deserve a recall.
Having been part of the World Cup squad for the finals in Germany last year but not getting a run, Milligan admitted he was a bundle of nerves before Monday night's match.
"Yeah, I was nervous but when they played the national anthem and I was alongside all those boys I was OK," Milligan said.
Milligan revealed he was "screwed" for the last 20 minutes of the game as he had not played for six weeks.
He said the World Cup had been a tremendous learning experience for him.
"Absolutely," Milligan said. "Every time I come into camp with these guys I learn something new every day.
"Just the confidence these boys give me, the way they play, the way they present themselves, it's unbelievable. It's a different world coming in to this Australian team and I am very privileged to be a part of it."
Carney said the match was the biggest of his career.
Copyright 2007 News Limited.