The Socceroos, who were without Kewell for the critical clash due to an infected toe, had a golden opportunity against the Italians as defender Marco Materazzi was shown a red card in the 50th minute with the scores still deadlocked at 0-0.
Kewell, 41, wonders ‘what could have been’ when he looks back at that game which ended cruelly with a 95th-minute Francesco Totti penalty for the win - especially if he had been available.
“We knew it was going to be difficult but at any given moment that was the time to take Italy down because they had ten men,” Kewell said in an interview on the FFA Podcast.
“I think in that game the only thing we lacked was someone for us to break through the final third.
“I so wish now that I was playing in that game, even if I played only 45 minutes or half an hour.”
The former Leeds United and Liverpool flyer believes Totti's penalty approach revealed he was feeling the immense pressure and fear of his team.
“I know they were scared because Totti blasted the ball,” he said.
“When you blast the ball it means that you hit it as hard as you can and just hope that the keeper doesn’t go the right way.”
