Uruguay's coach and members of the team told local press on Wednesday that Australia is trying to create a hostile climate ahead of their World Cup playoff games, but said they were still confident of winning.

Jorge Fossati, the Uruguayan coach, said that the Australians had learned their tactics from the South Americans and were trying to play the game ahead of time and off the field to win some sporting advantage.

The two teams met in the 2001 playoffs for the 2002 World Cup. On that occasion, Australia's team were harrassed by violent Uruguayan fans on their arrival in Montevideo.

In recent days, the Uruguayan press has picked up stories from the Australian press describing how Australians are trying to create a pressured atmosphere ahead of the Sydney leg of the competition. The press also warned of a hostile atmosphere ahead of the Uruguay return match.

Australia and Uruguay are due to play in Montevideo on Nov. 12 and Sydney on Nov. 16. Uruguay won through to the main competition in the 2001 play-offs, losing 0-1 to Australia in their first match, before coming back to beat them 3-0.

Uruguay has won the World Cup twice, once in 1930 in Uruguay and once in 1950 in Brazil, and has played in 10 different World Cups.

Source: Xinhua