Australians plan to get physical against Italy

OEHRINGEN, Germany, June 25 (Reuters) Australia are planning to follow the lead of the United States by launching a physical assault designed to run Italy off their feet in the World Cup second round clash in Kaiserslautern tomorrow.

The Americans held Italy to a draw in the group stages with their confrontational approach to the game and the Australians are preparing to adopt similar tactics.

Defender Lucas Neil conceded that the Italians were more experienced than his own team but the Socceroos might be able to overcome their deficiencies by running them ragged.

''The US did very well by putting Italy under pressure and we'll have to try and do the same,'' Neill told a news conference today.

Three players were sent off in that match, including two Americans, as the U.S. battled for a point. Neill added: ''Italy is a very talented team so if we give them time they'll hurt us, they'll punish us so we have to go into the game 100 percent focused and try to work harder than them so, yes, we'll adopt a high pressure game.'' Australia captain Mark Viduka said the Socceroos planned to prevent the Italians from slowing the game down by raising the tempo and challenging them in defence.

PHYSICAL SIDE ''We're a very physical side anyway, we don't pull out of tackles. We're renowned for not being scared of tackling,'' he said.

''I think we're very, very fit as a team. We've got players, especially in our midfield, that can run all day and I think teams are finding that hard to deal with.'' Coach Guus Hiddink, who was in charge of the South Korea side that knocked Italy out of the last World Cup, said his players were under no illusions about the magnitude of the task facing them.

Australia have already exceeded everyone's expectations by making it to the second round but Hiddink said they needed to play even better to have any chance of beating Italy.

''We're looking forward to making the next step but it's going to be a very difficult one because we're playing against a squad who play in one of the best leagues,'' the Dutchman said.

''They are 100 percent favourites for this round but we hope to oppose them as well as we can, for as long as we can.

''We are reaching a different stage of the tournament. The pace is coming up. The modern game is a very attacking game, a very physical game.

''The strong point about the Australian team is that even when we are down, and unfortunately we have been down in all our games at this tournament, the team always reacts and never gives the impression that it's lost. That's the main quality of this team.'' REUTERS PDS KN1850