Pim Verbeek's weekend couldn't have possibly worked out any better. Not only did his Socceroos side secure a win over the No.4 ranked side in the world, albeit in a friendly, but elsewhere, the results fell the Australian coach's way, meaning a win over Uzbekistan on Wednesday will put Australia into a very strong position in its battle for World Cup qualification.
There must have been a certain pleasure for Verbeek in inflicting a defeat of the country of his birth. The Netherlands have a reputation of performing well when it doesn't matter and struggling when it counts. However, this match meant nothing and The Oranje had their colours lowered by an Australian side which needed a good workout more than a win.
The send off of Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was clearly a significant point of the match, but the fact the home side was close to full strength, with the exception of Arjen Robben and was unable to trouble the Australian defence except very early in the game bodes well for the much-criticised Aussie back four.
Chris Coyne answered any queries over his ability to live up to international football, and oddly, of the central defenders, it was Lucas Neill who looked more out of place. Questions will continue to be raised about the suitability of Neill in the centre of a back four, and whether he lacks the technique and discipline to handle the pressure of taking the opposition's chief attacking weapon.
Beyond that, it was all positive. After being tested significantly inside the first ten minutes, both the wide defensive men, Luke Wilkshire and David Carney, found their feet. Wilkshire got better as the game went on and had legitimate claims for being the man of the match, given he rebuffed the Dutch wingers on countless occasions, and then slipped forward to deliver the cross for Josh Kennedy to secure the winner.
Verbeek had the luxury of taking off his two most influential players in the second half, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell. Emerton's pre-season has been hampered by injuries, while Verbeek makes no secret of the importance of Kewell in the Australian line-up. So much does the Dutchman think of the Galatasaray striker that he travelled to Turkey two weeks ago to watch him play and have lunch with him.
Kennedy continues to impress in his ability to fill Mark Viduka's shoes. He may not be a pretty striker, but he sure is effective, and against a tall Uzbek defence this week, he is sure to be crucial. Carl Valeri did a great job as Vince Grella's understudy and with the Blackburn midfielder not travelling to Central Asia, it will give 'Mini Vinnie' another chance to show what he can do. His discipline in the match in Eindhoven allowed Jason Culina to get forward more often and provide an option in attack.
Meanwhile in Doha, the team Pim Verbeek marked as 'the dark horse' looked little more than a pit pony as it succumbed to Qatar 3-0 in its opening qualifier. Uzbekistan was very impressive in the first round of qualification, but questions must be raised about where Rauf Inileev's men are at after Jorge Fosatti's men completely outplayed them. That's the same Qatar side which Australia thrashed twice in the first round. There is no doubt that Uzbekistan will prove a much more difficult proposition in Tashkent, but the fact it lost so easily just four days before its first home fixture must have Verbeek feeling confident.
Japan's win over Bahrain was hardly a surprise and probably works in Australia's favour. Given Japan's impressive qualification record of late, you'd assume it will be one of the two sides to progress. The more points Japan takes off the other three sides, the better it is for Australia. That means a pair of draws in the two matches against Australia's fiercest Asian rival will give it a strong chance of progressing.
In the more immediate future, a win on Wednesday would have Australia three points clear of Uzbekistan with a game in hand, meaning it will hold the whip hand over the 'dark horse'. After such a great weekend, Verbeek may be attempted to go for the jugular and put Australia in a strong position to qualify for South Africa.