Brett Holman hopes he has silenced his detractors once and for all with his performances and two goals in the FIFA World Cup™ campaign.

The Socceroos went out of the tournament fighting and with their reputation enhanced after a pulsating 2-1 win over world number 15 Serbia at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Wednesday.

Holman, 26, finished as the Socceroos’ unexpected leading scorer at the tournament with his goals against Ghana and Serbia and attracted rave reviews for his performances as an all-action midfielder. Fans have not always taken to Holman, but coach Pim Verbeek has consistently been an admirer of his selfless non-stop running and energy.

“You always get criticism from anybody and everybody,” said Holman, who has played eight years in the Dutch league and is currently with AZ Alkmaar. “You always want to perform for everybody, but you are always going to get criticism now and then and you have to deal with it and prove them wrong.

“I have always given my best in every game I’ve played for Australia and it was lucky that I scored these goals in my last two games. I think I always belong, I feel part of the team and part of this group and the atmosphere was great and I always felt comfortable around the boys.”

Verbeek leaves no doubt as to what he thinks of Holman and his importance to the Socceroos set-up. “I have always been a fan of Brett Holman. I always thought he was very important to the team,” Verbeek said.

The effervescent Holman, who came on with Scott Chipperfield in the 66th minute, let fly with a wonderful long-range strike seven minutes later which left Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic flailing. “Normally, I would have passed it, but it was one of those things, especially with the ball in this World Cup,” he said. “You can shoot from anywhere and it can go all over the place and lucky I connected alright and it hit the back of the net, so it was a good feeling.”

Holman is expected to figure more prominently in the future Australian side, now in a transition phase with several long-term Socceroos stepping down from the international arena. “Now this is all over I will sit down and write down what sort of goals I will have over the next four years and we’ll go from there,” he said.

“I have mixed feelings. We gave a good performance and we beat a great Serbian side, it’s unfortunate that we didn’t qualify and that was the tough part. Trying to weigh it all up it’s great to score two goals at the World Cup, but on the other hand I would have rather not have scored them and us gone through to the next round.”

Socceroos midfielder Brett Emerton does not believe Australia will struggle physically against Serbia tomorrow despite being reduced to 10 men in their opening two FIFA World Cup™ matches.

Both Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell have been dismissed so far in the competition, seriously denting their chances of advancing to the knockout stages. They go into the Serbia game needing a win and for either Ghana to beat Germany, or Germany to beat Ghana by a big enough margin for Australia to turn around a five-goal difference on the Africans.

It remains a long shot but Emerton is adamant the Socceroos will not be lacking physically for their crunch encounter. “If we can play a game with 11 men, we will probably feel like we’re running on air,” joked Emerton. “I think physically the team’s in very good shape, all the boys have worked exceptionally hard coming into this World Cup, so I can’t see that being a problem.”

On a psychological level, Emerton said the Socceroos are more motivated than ever having endured two red cards in the two games to date. “We know we haven’t got the rub of the green, which is disappointing, we’ve played the majority of this World Cup with 10 men so far and both have been very, very harsh red cards. It’s disappointing to lose Harry, but we get Tim back and after our good performance against Ghana, we should go into this match full of confidence,” he said.

Emerton said the possibility the Socceroos will need several goals in the match won’t dramatically alter how they approach the game. “We won’t go gung-ho, we will still have a strategic plan and obviously, we’ll be looking to win the game and hopefully Ghana can come up with an upset against Germany,” he said.

“I’ve done the calculations plenty of times. We’ve all talked about the different scenarios. It’s still possible. Germany could beat Ghana by three or four and that means we can beat the Serbs by one or two. It’s still mathematically possible and we’ll give it our best shot. If we get the win, we can walk away with our heads held high.”

Socceroos captain Lucas Neill says Australia will draw inspiration from Brad Jones’ son’s battle with a serious illness when they take on Germany in their FIFA World Cup™ opener on Sunday.

Just hours before the Socceroos lost 3-1 to USA on Saturday, the team was rocked by the news that back-up goalkeeper Jones would be forced to leave the squad after his four-year-old son Luca was diagnosed the previous day. The news obviously had an impact on the squad as the Socceroos conceded three goals, the most they’ve allowed in a match since coach Pim Verbeek took over in February 2008.

But the players are already looking to support 28-year-old shotstopper Jones, with Tim Cahill celebrating his goal for Australia with a babe-in-arms gesture. And skipper Neill said the sad news would only give the Australians more incentive when they take on Germany in Group D.

“That’s actually galvanised the team again,” Neill told Fox Sports as the team arrived in camp in Muldersdrift just outside of Johannesburg. (It) gives us just that extra inspiration we needed to want to be successful.”

But Neill was more than aware the Germans, who have suffered a difficult FIFA World Cup build-up themselves with injuries to key players like Michael Ballack and Heiko Westermann, will present Australia with one the most difficult tasks in the country’s football history. “Germany are a superior team to Australia and clearly they’re favourites,” Neill said.

“Their record in World Cups suggest they are the most consistent team in world football. (So) if it’s a draw, then it’s a fantastic result. If we can cause an upset by winning the game, then we’ll have shocked the world.”

In other bad news for Verbeek, star man Cahill suffered a minor neck injury against the United States although it is unlikely to rule him out of the clash with Germany, while Brett Emerton trained strongly as he looks to recover from a calf injury.

Officially it is the home of cricket. But Durban’s Kingsmead Stadium is presently being converted into a temporary camping site which will house 1000 Australian football fans, due to arrive in South Africa next week.

“They wanted a different experience which would enable them to keep their group together,” said Petro von der Spruy, who is the Project Manager of ‘Camp Australia.’

“We were looking at different sites and decided on Kingsmead because of the facilities that they have and because it’s a walking distance from the Durban stadium.”

Using a cricket ground as a camping site is also a safer option weather-wise, she adds. “The cricket field has a special draining system, so even if there’s heavy rain, the field can be drained within six hours.”

The cricket pitch however will be off limits and has been cordoned off to prevent damage.

The stadium is presently a hive of activity, with hundreds of tents being erected on the field, each of them equipped with two or three steel beds, mattresses, sheets, linen and a rechargeable lamp.

“It’s quite a comfortable set up – like a mini hotel,” said von der Spruy. “We’ll collect the linen and replace it every five days. We also provide them with breakfast daily, and there are vendors on site who will provide other meals.”

The site also boasts internet facilities, mobile showers, toilets and a bar and entertainment area where various musicians including famous Australian rock band ‘Powderfinger’ will apparently perform.

Security is tight, with bio-metric access controls ensuring that everyone who requires access to the stadium is first fingerprinted and entered into a system.

They will start arriving at the camp on 10 June, three days before Australia take on Germany in its first group fixture at the Durban Stadium, and will use it a base for a total of 16 to 20 days, depending on their dates of departure from South Africa. Arrangements have been made for them to travel by coach to Nelspruit and Rustenburg for Australia’s other group stage fixtures, as well as to visit some of KwaZulu Natal’s various attractions, including the Ushaka Marine World and a game reserve.

Implementing the idea for ‘Camp Australia’ has been enjoyable but challenging said von der Spruy. “We couldn’t really contact anyone and ask them how it’s been done in the past, because I think that in terms of erecting a tented camp in a world class cricket stadium, perhaps this is a first.”