Viduka may quit international soccer

Leeds United striker Mark Viduka has said he might quit international soccer after Australia's latest failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Viduka told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday he was so shattered by Australia's 3-0 loss to Uruguay that he was considering sticking to club football.

"I don't know if I'm going to back up after this...it's exhausting, mentally exhausting," Viduka was quoted as saying.

"I'll probably go back to concentrating on club football.

"I was planning on making the World Cup and all the hype around that, but it's not to be."

Viduka said Uruguay deserved their place in next year's World Cup finals in Japan and Korea after overturning a 1-0 loss in the the first leg to win 3-1 on aggregate but he renewed calls for the Oceania champions to be given automatic entry.

Oceania is the only federation that does not get an automatic place in the finals.

Australia easily won the Oceania title only to be thrown into a two-leg playoff against the fifth-placed South American team which had had the benefit of 18 tough qualifiers.

"The whole two game thing just kills us. We have such an unfair route to qualify," Viduka said.

"I mean, they've lost about 10 games in their group and we've lost one but we're out."