Australia national football (soccer) team
Encyclopedia
The Australia national association football team represents Australia
in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos". The team is controlled by Football Federation Australia
(FFA), which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation
(AFC) and also an invitee member of the ASEAN Football Federation
(AFF) since 2006.
Australia is a four-time Oceania Football Confederation
(OFC) champion and has been represented at three FIFA World Cup
tournaments, in 1974
, 2006
and 2010
. Australia topped their group in the 2010 World Cup qualification
without losing a match and only conceding one goal, and became one of the first nations to qualify for the finals tournament
: during the qualification, they reached their highest placing, 14th, in the FIFA World Rankings
. However, Australia failed to progress past the group stage in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
and South Africa
became regular opponents in "Test" or "Friendly" matches for the next 25 years. With the advent of cheap air travel, Australia diversified its range of opponents. However, its geographical isolation continued to play a role in its destiny for the next 80 years.
, Australia beat American Samoa with an extraordinary, unexpected result of 31–0. Archie Thompson
, the Australian forward and number 20, scored an amazing 13 goals in Nicky Salapu
's goal in the 12th, 23rd, 27th, 29th, 32nd, 37th, 42nd, 45th, 56th, 60th, 65th, 85th and 88th minutes, with unexpected mistakes by Nicky, even though saving many hard shots from the Australian players, some of them from the first 10 minutes of the game.
after having missed out in play-offs in 1966
and 1970
, losing to North Korea and Israel
respectively. It would prove to be their only appearance until 2006
.
The road to the 1974 World Cup began with a series of home and away matches against Iraq
, New Zealand, and Indonesia
. The Socceroos, having won this tournament, then played and won a two-legged fixture against one of the Socceroos' biggest rivals Iran
, managing to hold on to a slim overall lead in front of 120,000 Iranian fans in the Azadi Stadium
, Tehran, during the second leg. South Korea, having itself knocked out Israel
at the equivalent stage, was then drawn as Australia's final hurdle. Over the course of another two-legged playoff the scores remained even, and so a deciding match was played in Hong Kong. Australia won this match, through a Jimmy Mackay
goal, scored off a free kick.
Australia were drawn into Group A consisting of hosts and favourites West Germany
, East Germany
and Chile
. Australia held the East German's 0–0 at half-time before defender Colin Curran
deflected the ball into his own net early in the second half. East German striker Joachim Streich
then secured the points with a goal half-way through the second half, with the game finishing 2–0. Australia lost their following match to West Germany 3–0 with goals to Wolfgang Overath
, Bernhard Cullmann
and star-striker Gerd Müller
. Having lost both their opening games, Australia could not proceed further in the tournament and the Australians managed to hold Chile to a scoreless draw, seeing Australia earn its first ever World Cup finals point. It was to be the last appearance for the Australian team until the World Cup tournament returned to Germany more than three decades later. Over that 32 year time span, the Australian team was known for its near misses in its attempts to qualify for the FIFA World Cup
, most notably 1998
against Iran and 2002
against Uruguay.
Before that, they lost play-offs in 1966 (to North Korea), 1970 (to Israel), 1986 (to Scotland), and 1994 (to Argentina) and even lost to Fiji in the OFC qualifying matches in 1988 1–0.
is an example of the difficult qualifying path which members of the Oceania confederation have had to endure. In order to qualify for USA 94, Australia had to endure 3 playoff stages. The first stage was the Oceania playoff. Australia finished on top of Group 1 in Oceania going undefeated in four games against weaker sides Tahiti
and the Solomon Islands
and scoring thirteen goals over the four games. Australia played New Zealand in the Oceania playoff. The first leg was played in New Zealand on 30 May 1993, with Australia winning the game 1–0. Australia won the return leg 3–0 to win the playoff stage with a 4–0 aggregate score. Having won the Oceania playoff, Australia now had to win a 2-leg playoff against Canada
, the CONCACAF
runner up. The first leg was played in Canada on 31 July 1993, with the Canadians winning the 1st leg 2–1. In the second leg, which was played on 15 August 1993 in Sydney, Australia managed a 2–1 win which saw the game go into extra time after a 3–3 aggregate scoreline. The game went into a penalty shootout which was won by Australia 4–1. Australia then qualified for the 2-leg playoff against the South American group 1 runner up, Argentina. The first leg was played in Sydney on 31 October 1993. The 1st leg ended with a 1–1 draw. On 17 November 1993, the second leg was played in Argentina, with Argentina winning 1–0 and denying Australia a place at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. After the game Argentine legend Diego Maradona
was so impressed with the Socceroos performance that he said to then captain Paul Wade "Your tears of pain, will one day be tears of joy". Just to qualify for the 1994 World Cup Australia would have had to beat Argentina, the runners-up from the 1990 World Cup
, and ranked 9th in the world at that time.
qualifying tournament
, Australia had to play Iran
over two legs in one week, with the winner progressing to the World Cup finals
to be held in France. Australia, under coach Terry Venables
, tied the away leg 1–1 and looked like they were going to proceed to the finals in France, initially leading 2–0 in the home game in Melbourne, until Iran managed to score two late goals to tie the game and progress to the finals on the away goals rule. This match has been named one of the most memorable matches by many of the retired Australian and Iranian football players. At the time the crowd that packed the MCG was the highest ever for an association football match in Australia.
for 2002 FIFA World Cup
. Second and third-string line-ups thrashed a number of tiny island nations in a competition that made a mockery of the Confederation, including a world-record 22–0 win against Tonga
, then smashed that record with a 31–0 win over American Samoa only two days later. Still missing Harry Kewell
and Mark Viduka
, Australia comfortably beat New Zealand, their only real threat in the Oceania confederation. Australia then once again had to win a two leg playoff in November, in order to advance to the World Cup finals to be held in South Korea and Japan.
On this occasion the opposition was the 5th placed South American team, Uruguay
. In the preceding four months Uruguay's preparation had been six World Cup qualifying matches
, as follows: beat #2 ranked Brazil 1:0; drew 1:1 with #8 ranked Colombia; drew 1:1 with #2 ranked Argentina. In contrast, Australia's preparation had included no qualifying games since two matches in 4 days in June, against #81 ranked New Zealand, although had played two friendly matches – a loss to Japan
in August and a 1:1 draw with France in November.
In the first leg in Melbourne, Australia won 1–0 after Kevin Muscat
scored from a penalty kick; however, Australia's qualification campaign ended unsuccessfully as they lost 3–0 in the away leg in Montevideo
just five days later with the South Americans proving too strong.
. In 1997, Australia drew with Brazil 0–0 in the group stage and then defeated Uruguay 1–0 in the semi-finals to reach the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final
. In 2001, after a victory against France
in the group stage, Australia finished the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
in 3rd place after defeating Brazil
1–0 in the Bronze Final. Australia also drew with France 1–1 in Melbourne in November 2001. Another highlight for Australian football was the 3–1 victory over England
in a friendly in London in 2003.
by topping the round-robin stage of the Oceania Football Confederation World Cup qualification tournament
. The team drew 2–2 with the Solomon Islands
, which combined with other results put that team ahead of New Zealand in the standings and meaning that the Solomon Islands qualified for the final playoff rather than the expected New Zealand.
Coach Frank Farina
stood down from the position by "mutual consent" on 29 June 2005 after Australia failed to win a game at the 2005 Confederations Cup
, citing ever increasing speculation over his position. On 22 July, Guus Hiddink
was announced by FIFA as the new national coach. This announcement came after intense speculation by the Australian media over potential candidates and even a premature announcement from Hiddink himself. Hiddink combined his roles as manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven with that of Australia, and remained the coach of Australia until the end of the Australian team's 2006 World Cup campaign, after which he accepted a position coaching Russia.
After some initial training sessions with the Australian team in the Netherlands, his first campaign as national coach resulted in a 11–1 aggregate win over the Solomon Islands in the OFC Qualifying Tournament Final. The remaining task for Hiddink and Australia was the Oceania-South America playoff
against the fifth placed team from the CONMEBOL Qualifying Tournament
for a place in the World Cup.
In October 2005, Australia beat Jamaica
5–0 in a friendly in London. The win was the Socceroos' biggest win against a team ranked higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings list and also Australia's biggest win against a country which has participated in the World Cup.
Australia, ranked #49, then moved on to play 18th ranked Uruguay
in a rematch of the qualifying matches in 2001. Again, there was a huge contrast in preparation. Australia had only two recent qualifying matches, against #138 Solomon Islands, only three days apart. Uruguay's preparation had included four qualifying matches, in the previous two months, including: beaten #26 Colombia, drawn with #33 Ecuador, and beaten #4 Argentina.
Fearing a repeat of security problems which occurred in Montevideo in 2001, Australia announced that they would hold their training sessions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and would only stay in Montevideo for the game. Uruguay called for the first leg to be moved a day earlier, to 11 November. This idea was rejected by Australia. As a result, Uruguay had announced that they had moved the kick off time back five hours to 9:00 pm local time on 12 November. This meant that Australia would miss their direct flight back to Sydney for the second leg. This would also mean that Uruguay would have an extra day of preparation for the second leg.
However, this plan backfired on the Uruguayans. Their plans to charter a plane for a direct flight to Sydney fell through (they ended up flying over in economy class
seating on a regular commercial flight). When Uruguay asked to move the kickoff back, Australia, which by that time had arranged, with their sponsor Qantas
, a specially fitted out 767 (which included massage tables, and much room and space) for immediately after the game, refused. Eventually, FIFA stepped in and ordered the kickoff moved back to 6:00 pm local time.
Uruguay defeated Australia 1–0 in Montevideo on 12 November 2005, after a header from Dario Rodriguez
. Australia had the better of their Uruguayan opponents for a lot of the match, but they could not capitalise on their opportunities. In Sydney, on 16 November for the second leg of the qualifying series and in front of 82,698 fans at Telstra Stadium
, Australia led Uruguay 1–0 after 90 minutes following a goal by Mark Bresciano
in the first half. The aggregate was tied, and extra time was played. Neither team scored after two periods of extra time, bringing the game to a penalty shootout. Australia won the penalty shootout 4–2, making Australia the only team to ever qualify for a World Cup via a penalty shootout. Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
made two saves and John Aloisi
scored the winning penalty.
The resulting win led to scenes of celebration across the country, as the Socceroos qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, their first qualification in 32 years.
Immediately after that qualification, Australia went into the 2006 World Cup as the second lowest-ranked side. Their ranking on the FIFA World Rankings improved in subsequent months, leapfrogging other qualified countries.
. Football had developed over time to place increasing importance on tournaments rather than friendly matches. This established the Continental championships and their qualifiers as the major source of competitive matches for national teams. This served to starve Australia of potential opponents and resulted in long gaps between fixtures for the national team.
Football broadcaster and former Socceroos captain Johnny Warren
, expressed his desire for Australia to join Asia. Despite previous attempts to do so, each notoriously ending in failure, a story was leaked from Tokyo in March 2005 suggesting that FIFA
had entered into secret discussions with the AFC
on this very issue. On 23 March, the AFC Executive Committee made a unanimous decision to invite Australia to join the AFC
.
AFC President, Mohammed Bin Hammam
, outlined reasons for this decision.
On 17 April, the OFC executive committee unanimously endorsed Australia's proposed move. FIFA approved the move on 30 June, and it took effect on 1 January 2006. Earlier, on 1 December, the AFC Executive Committee announced that Australia would be put into the ASEAN
zone. Currently, Australia is an invitee member of ASEAN Football Federation
.
Australia was duly entered into the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification. On 4 January, Australia was drawn into group D, alongside Bahrain
, Lebanon
and Kuwait
. Lebanon later withdrew due to recent military conflict in the area. Australia's first game as a member of the AFC
was on 22 February, a 3–1 win away to Bahrain
in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
. They subsequently qualified for the finals
on 16 August after defeating Kuwait
2–0.
, along with Japan
, Croatia
and defending champions Brazil
.
In late December 2005, Coach Guus Hiddink
appointed former Dutch player, Johan Neeskens
, as Assistant Coach, to work alongside Graham Arnold, Ron Smith, Tony Franken and Anthony Crea.
On 13 February 2006, Australia launched a new home and away strip for the World Cup. The home strip, similar to the 1974
outfit, is an entirely yellow shirt with green shorts. The away strip is entirely obsidian blue with yellow trimmings (the heraldic colours of Australia). The jerseys were launched at a lavish ceremony at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in Berlin. On 17 March 2006, the FIFA World Cup trophy visited Sydney on its tour around the world.
While the team was preparing for the World Cup, Socceroos player Tony Vidmar
was ruled out after being diagnosed with a heart condition. In all, the squad that won the qualification matches saw 5 changes in the lead-up the World Cup finals. Joel Griffiths
, Ahmad Elrich, Ljubo Milicevic
, Tony Vidmar
and Michael Thwaite
were replaced by Joshua Kennedy
, Mile Sterjovski
, Michael Beauchamp
, Craig Moore
and Mark Milligan
respectively.
As part of a national support effort for the Socceroos in Australia, the television network SBS
ran a competition, "Song for the Socceroos", in order to select a World Cup anthem for the Socceroos.
The winning song "Green and Gold" was announced on 16 May.
On 25 May 2006 in Melbourne, Australia played a friendly against Greece
, then current European Champions, and ranked #20 in FIFA rankings. Australia won 1–0 thanks to a Josip Skoko volley early on in the match. The match, at the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground
, was sold out in only 2 hours, and was a great sendoff for Australia from home soil, despite the questionable quality of the Greek performance.
Australia played the Netherlands
in a friendly match in Rotterdam
on 4 June. The Dutch, ranked #3 in the world, went ahead in the 9th minute after goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer parried a Ruud van Nistelrooy
shot, the Socceroos failed to clear the ball and van Nistelrooy scored with a follow-up strike. Australia's Tim Cahill
equalised in the 53rd minute following a goal-line scramble after Mark Viduka
hit the crossbar from a penalty kick
. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. The only blemish was the dismissal of defender Luke Wilkshire
in the 61st minute, after a wild challenge on Giovanni van Bronckhorst
. The next day, the Socceroos left for Germany.
Australia played a final pre-World Cup friendly against 123rd-ranked Liechtenstein
on 7 June. Defender Lucas Neill
headed an own goal
in the 8th minute, giving Liechtenstein the lead until Mile Sterjovski
equalised in the 20th. Australia struggled to gain a lead on their opponents until the final 15 minutes when a goal each from Joshua Kennedy
and John Aloisi
won Australia the game 3–1.
, the Socceroos stayed in the town of Öhringen
. Just days before Australia's first World Cup match against Japan
, it was reported in the west that the Japan Football Association
chairman claimed the Socceroos were "guilty of a lot of dirty fouls" and that "they target ankles in particular." However, a further scrutiny of the original Japanese script reveals that there was a misinterpretation by the western media, possibly to spice up the competition. While it is unclear who started this mistranslation, deliberately or otherwise, Saburo Kawabuchi of Japan Football Association
later commented that this would not be the first or the last time mistranslation happens and should not be taken too seriously.
On 12 June, the Socceroos defeated Japan 3–1 in their opening game in Kaiserslautern
, with Tim Cahill
scoring two goals (84', 89') and John Aloisi
scoring one (92+') in the last eight minutes to claim their first World Cup finals victory. An early controversial call by Egyptian referee Essam Abd El Fatah
, that awarded a goal (26') to Shunsuke Nakamura
, despite an apparent foul to Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
, had the Australians playing catch-up until the last eight minutes. Schwarzer and Viduka claimed that Abd El Fatah apologised over allowing Nakamura's goal to stand after the incident, admitting he had made a mistake, although Abd El Fatah later denied making an apology and said that "FIFA's refereeing committee... agreed unanimously that Japan's goal against Australia was correct." Both Cahill and Aloisi came in as substitutes in the second half of the game. Their goals were the first ever scored by Australia in the World Cup Finals, and Australia became the first team in the 2006 tournament to come back after being 1–0 down. Also, no other team has scored three goals in the last seven minutes of a match in World Cup finals history.
On 18 June, hours before Australia's second game against world champions Brazil, a British newspaper claimed that several Australian players had placed bets amongst themselves, which was said to be against FIFA
regulations. Tim Cahill admitted that teammates Lucas Neill
and Archie Thompson
bet that Cahill would score the first ever Australian goal at the World Cup. Mark Viduka
also said that the players were taking bets on who was going to be the first to score, and that goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac
was the bookmaker. FIFA have since cleared all players of any wrongdoing, by interpreting their regulations as referring to betting with professional bookmakers, rather than betting within a team.
Australia met Brazil
in their second Group F game in Munich
on 18 June. The Australians held Brazil to a 0–0 half time scoreline before Adriano
put Brazil in front (49'). Brazil substitute Fred
scored (90') with the help of substitute Robinho
to give Brazil a 2–0 win, which saw the Brazilians go through to the second round.
A day later, following the Brazil game, Harry Kewell
was in hot water after an altercation with the referee from the Brazil game. FIFA announced that it would investigate the incident. On 20 June, charges were dismissed against Kewell due to "inconsistent reporting by match officials", allowing him to play the next game against Croatia.
On 22 June, Australia faced Croatia
in Stuttgart
. The final score was 2–2. A goal from Darijo Srna
in the second minute put Australia on the back foot. Australia equalised with a penalty goal from Craig Moore
(38') after Croatian defender Stjepan Tomas
handballed near the Croatian goal. Niko Kovac
gave Croatia a 2–1 lead after halftime before Australia equalised again through Harry Kewell
(79') in a moment described by SBS
broadcast commentator Simon Hill
as "well, it just had to be Harry". Kewell appeared to be offside for the goal, in a match riddled with errors. The referee Graham Poll
dismissed calls for a penalty in the 5th minute when Croatia's Josip Šimunić
appeared to wrestle striker Mark Viduka
to the ground near goal. Despite penalising Croatia for Stjepan Tomas' handball in the 39th minute, he failed to penalise Tomas for exactly the same deed in the 75th minute, when Australia were trying to equalise again. Towards the end of the match, Poll blew the final whistle at the moment that John Aloisi
scored what would have been a winning goal, and then blew the final whistle again, before presenting Simunic with three yellow cards and then sending him off after the final whistle. Here, Simunic is the world record holder for "Most Yellow Cards in a Football Match." Poll issued eight yellow cards resulting in three expulsions. Brett Emerton
was sent off for his second bookable offence (although he was already suspended for the next match for receiving his second yellow card of the group stage earlier in the match). The Daily Telegraph reported on 25 June that Graham Poll was dismissed from World Cup refereeing duties by FIFA, who claimed that his mistake was "unacceptable". As Brazil beat Japan 4–1, Australia proceeded to the next round to face Italy.
On 26 June, Australia met Italy
in Kaiserslautern
. Kewell was unavailable for the game, entering the stadium on crutches reportedly suffering from an attack of gout
and infected blisters (later diagnosed as septic arthritis). The score at half-time was 0–0. Italy went down to 10 men due to the red card (51') given to Marco Materazzi
for a two-footed tackle on Mark Bresciano
. Otherwise, six yellow cards were issued in total. Almost three minutes into stoppage time, with the score still at 0–0 and Australia being pushed into their own half, a controversial penalty was awarded to Italy when Fabio Grosso
fell under a Lucas Neill
challenge in the final seconds of the match. Francesco Totti
scored from the spot (95') and the game ended immediately with Australia eliminated. Coach Guus Hiddink
officially ended his reign as the coach of the Socceroos following the 1–0 loss to Italy and took the managerial job with Russia. Australian assistant coach Graham Arnold
branded the penalty a "joke", to the agreement of several Australian players, including Tim Cahill
, who believed Grosso should have been cautioned for diving.
, went to their first Asian Cup
sending a strong squad which included 15 players from the World Cup
team. Australia was drawn in Group A alongside (co-host) Thailand
, Oman
and Iraq
.
In their first match, Australia were only able to earn a 1–1 draw against a lower-ranked Oman
team. Australia played poorly, with Oman leading for most of the match after Badar Al-Maimani
scored in the 32nd minute, but were once again saved by Tim Cahill
who scored a late equaliser in the 92nd minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Australia lost their second group match 3–1 to eventual Asian Cup winners Iraq
, with Lucas Neill
receiving a red card (90'), following two yellow cards. Mark Viduka
scored the lone goal for the Australians in the 47th minute of the match which at that point in the game was the equaliser but Iraq
scored another two goals to win.
In the third match of the group stage, Australia defeated Thailand
4–0 with Mark Viduka
scoring two goals, with Michael Beauchamp
and Harry Kewell
scoring one goal each. The victory assured Australia's progression to the quarter final stage of the tournament.
After drawing 1–1 with Japan
after extra time, Australia exited the tournament on penalties at the quarter final stage. The first two Australian penalty kicks were both unsuccessful by Harry Kewell
and Lucas Neill
with Australia eventually bowing out 4–3 to end their inaugural participation in Asia's most prestigious football tournament.
In a friendly international at the MCG on 11 September 2007, the Socceroos were defeated by Argentina one goal to nil. The friendly was Graham Arnold's last game as head coach. It had been widely speculated that Dutchman Dick Advocaat
would take over as Head Coach for the Socceroos 2010 World Cup Qualifiers by the end of 2007 but he backed out of a contract with the FFA to continue coaching Zenit Petersburg. It has been reported that FFA is considering legal action against both person and club. As a result the Socceroo's head coach position was left open, with technical director Rob Baan the caretaker for a match against Nigeria at Loftus Road, London (Australia winning 1–0.) The position was filled on 6 December 2007 when the FFA announced Pim Verbeek as the new head coach.
in the third round alongside Iran
, Saudi Arabia
, South Korea and Japan
. They were drawn into a group composed of Qatar
, Iraq
and China
with the media dubbing it the "group of death". Fixtures started in February 2008, with a home match against Qatar at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne giving Australia a 3–0 victory. This was Pim Verbeek's first competitive match in charge of the Socceroos. The majority of the Australian squad consisted of overseas, mainly European based, players after Pim Verbeek announced the local A-league was not yet up to World Cup standards. A week after the match, Australia moved up to 38th on the FIFA World Rankings
.
In the second group game, Australia drew 0–0 with China with Mark Schwarzer saving a penalty in the last few minutes. In their 3rd out of 6 qualifiers on Sunday, 1 June, Australia beat Iraq at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 1–0, with a headed goal from Harry Kewell
proving the difference between the two teams early in the 2nd half of play. In the return match in Dubai
, Iraq defeated Australia 1–0 through a wonder strike from Emad Mohammed
. Australia then defeated Qatar 3–1 on 14 June in Doha
to progress to the fourth round of the AFC
qualifiers. Their final game in 3rd round qualifying ended in a 1–0 home defeat to China
.
Australia was drawn alongside Japan
, Bahrain
, Qatar
and Uzbekistan
in the fourth round of Asian World Cup qualification, which commenced with a 1–0 victory over the Uzbeks in Tashkent on 10 September 2008. Scott Chipperfield's run was unmarked and he comfortably headed in a Luke Wilkshire cross. They then proceeded to beat Qatar 4–0 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, to go top of the group, with goals scored by Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy with Brett Emerton scoring a brace for the home side. The game was delayed 30min (and close to abandoned) after a torrential rainstorm hit Brisbane Stadium prior to the match. Their next match was against Bahrain on 19 November. Australia managed a 1–0 victory despite a brilliant performance by the Bahrainis and a disappointing performance by Australia. Both the Australian coach and players admitted they were lucky to take the points which came courtesy of a Marco Bresciano goal in the 93rd minute. They dedicated the win to Craig Moore who missed the match following surgery for testicular cancer. Australia remained top of the group with 10 points after 4 games following a 0–0 draw away against Japan. The Socceroos were on the brink of qualifying after a convincing 2–0 win over Uzbekistan on 1 April in Sydney. After a lacklustre first half, the Socceroos scored two goals with a Josh Kennedy header in the 66th minute and a Harry Kewell penalty in the 73rd minute after Richard Garcia was taken down in the penalty box. Australia then secured their place in South Africa after holding Qatar 0–0 at Doha on 5 June.
Australia's qualification was already assured before the final two games, both home fixtures. In Sydney on Wednesday 10 June, goals to Mile Sterjovski and David Carney
gave Australia a 2–0 victory over Bahrain. Australia's final qualification game ended with a 2–1 victory over Japan, Australia coming back from a goal in the 40th minute by Japan's Marcus Tulio Tanaka with Tim Cahill
's equalising header in the 59th minute, and his winning goal 17 minutes later off a Nicky Carle corner. This victory left Australia top of Group A ahead of Japan by 5 clear points.
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring three-time world champion Germany
, Ghana
and Serbia
.
Prior to leaving for South Africa, Australia played a warm-up game in Melbourne against New Zealand. Australia played poorly with Vince Grella
and Tim Cahill
both performing dangerous tackles on Leo Bertos
which could have earned red cards in competitive fixtures. Despite trailing 1–0 at half-time, Australia managed to equalize through Dario Vidosic
in the second half, with Brett Holman
scoring the winner in injury time for a 2–1 victory.
In South Africa, Australia played another warm up game against Denmark
in Johannesburg
and won 1–0, a single goal from towering striker Joshua Kennedy
proving to be decisive. Australia's final warm up game before beginning their World Cup campaign was against United States
with Australia suffering a 3–1 defeat and Tim Cahill
scoring the only goal.
On 14 June 2010, Australia faced Germany in Durban. Pim Verbeek surprisingly chose to play without a recognised striker. Australia were comprehensively defeated 4–0, with goals by Podolski and Klose in the first half, followed by two more goals in the second half after Australia was reduced to ten men, due to Tim Cahill being sent off with a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Bastian Schweinsteiger
. Pim Verbeek was heavily criticised for his tactics, with chief SBS Football Analyst Craig Foster calling for his immediate sacking.
Australia's second group match against Ghana
resulted in a draw of 1–1. Australia shot its only goal early in the first half by Brett Holman
after Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson
fumbled the ball following a Mark Bresciano
freekick. Shortly after, a goal-bound strike from Ghana's Jonathan Mensah
was blocked on the goal line by Harry Kewell
's upper arm, resulting in a penalty kick and a straight red card for Kewell. Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan
scored the equalizing goal. Despite the man advantage, Ghana were mostly limited to long-range shots on Australia's goal, and some desperate defending from Australia saw the game finish a draw.
In their final group match against Serbia
, Tim Cahill
was back from suspension and scored via a header in the second half to allow Australia to go 1–0 up. Only four minutes later, Brett Holman
doubled the scoreline to 2–0 with an impressive long-range effort. Late in the second half, Serbia managed to score a late goal through Marko Pantelić
after Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
fumbled the ball, and the game ended 2–1. Germany had defeated Ghana 1–0, which meant that both Australia and Ghana finished on 4 points, but Ghana progressed to the knockout stage due to their superior goal difference. Pim Verbeek completed his term as Australian coach at the end of the 2010 World Cup.
, Australia were drawn against Bahrain
, India
and South Korea
in Group C. After defeating India 4–0 and drawing 1–1 with South Korea, the Socceroos went into the match against Bahrain needing only a point to progress. The Socceroos won 1–0 and topped their group. On 23 January, Australia edged Iraq, 1–0, in the quarterfinal. The match went into extra time with Harry Kewell heading in a goal in the 117th minute just inside the 18-yard box. Australia went on to destroy Uzbekistan, 6–0, in the semifinals to set up a final against Japan
on 29 January, which they lost in extra time 1–0, becoming runners-up.
. The Asian qualifiers began in September and prior to these crucial encounters, FFA organised a number of friendlies against the All Whites, Serbia, Wales and Malaysia. In March 2011, the Socceroos scheduled a game against world footballing powerhouse, Germany in Mönchengladbach
, and came out victorious defeating them 2–1. On 5 June Australia defeated New Zealand 3-0 in Adelaide. Two days later they drew 0-0 with Serbia in Melbourne. On 31 July, Australia got drawn in Group D along with Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand. On 10 August, Australia played Wales in a friendly match in Cardiff, with Australia coming away victorious 2-1. Tim Cahill and Robbie Kruse scored the goals for Australia. The Group stages started on 2 September.
The Socceroos didn't start well in their first game at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane against Thailand and were lucky to eek out the three points after going down 1-0 courtesy of a Teerasil Dangda goal for Thailand. Josh Kennedy and Alex Brousque cancelled out Teerasil's strike to give Australia a 2-1 win. The Socceroos then travelled to Saudi Arabia the match was expected to be Australia's toughest match in the group but the Socceroos put in a good performance and ran out 3-1 winners with Josh Kennedy netting twice and Luke Wilkshire converting from the penalty spot. Before the third qualifying match, Australia played Asian minnows Malaysia in Canberra. Given they were in the middle of an Asian qualifying tournament, coach Holger Osieck felt it was better for his team to play against an Asian opponent, instead of a European of South American team. He felt they would get more benefit playing a quick tempo Asian style, as opposed to a stronger, more physical European style. Australia won the match 5-0. Luke Wilkshire scored an early goal, before a double each to Josh Kennedy and Alex Brosque sealed a comfortable win. While the match had its detractors, the hit-out proved necessary. The next match against Oman was to be played in Sydney. Josh Kennedy continued his fantastic goal scoring form with one goal, Mile Jedinak and Brett Holman contributed goals as the Socceroos ran out 3-0 victors. The Socceroos then had to go to Muscat, Oman to play their 4th match in Group D. Many thought that Australia would ease past Oman due to Oman's poor performance in the game in Sydney but Oman stunned Australia winning 1-0 in a tightly contested match in which Australia were disallowed a goal which many thought should have counted. The Australian team then proceeded to defeat Thailand 1-0 at home which ensured that they will top the group and thus qualify for the next round of qualifying with 1 game to spare in the third round.
match against American Samoa
on 11 April 2001. Australia won 31–0 with Archie Thompson
scoring 13 goals and David Zdrilic
scoring 8 goals. Two days before the 31–0 win, Australia broke the record for largest win with a 22–0 win over Tonga
. Both wins surpassed the previous record held by Kuwait
who beat Bhutan
20–0 on 14 February 2000.
With 13 and 8 goals respectively, both Thompson and Zdrilic broke the previous record jointly held by another Australian, Gary Cole
, who scored seven goals against Fiji
in 1981, and Iran
ian Karim Bagheri
, who also scored seven goals against Maldives
in 1997. Some sources mentioned that the previous record was 10 goals, which was achieved by Denmark
's Sophus Nielsen
at the 1908 Olympics
and Germany
's Gottfried Fuchs
at the 1912 Olympics
. These matches, although fully recognised by FIFA
as official matches, were played by amateur
players.
on 2 November 2011 for the World Cup Qualifiers
against Oman
and Thailand
.
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|-
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The following is a list of Australian-born players who chose other national teams:
The following players were/or are currently playing for other youth national teams, yet were either born or lived a considerable amount of their youth in Australia but are still eligible to play for/or have represented Australia at any level:
The following players, not born in Australia but eligible to play for Australia, chose other national teams:
^Points per game statistic based on a standard 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
AFC Asian Cup
OFC Nations Cup
potential sponsors saw the Socceroos profile rise and jumped on board the so called 'bandwagon
'.
Currently the Socceroos are sponsored by Qantas
, the Major Sponsor, and Nike
, the Kit Supplier. Other sponsors include Foxtel
, Hyundai
, NAB
, Powerade
, Optus
& Westfield.
and Fox Sports Australia. The 2006 World Cup Qualification game against Uruguay was the highest rating program in SBS history and a 2010 World Cup Qualification
game against Japan set a record for the highest subscription television audience according to ASTRA
ratings.
In the United States, qualifiers are broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel
.
was coined by Sydney journalist, Tony Horstead, in 1967 in his coverage of a "goodwill" tour by the national team to South Vietnam
.
Australia is no longer part of the Oceania Football Confederation
(OFC) and was not defending its Oceanian title in 2008.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos". The team is controlled by Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
(FFA), which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
(AFC) and also an invitee member of the ASEAN Football Federation
ASEAN Football Federation
ASEAN Football Federation is a subset of nations within the Asian Football Confederation from Southeast Asia. ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations. The AFF was founded in 1984 by the nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Cambodia, Laos,...
(AFF) since 2006.
Australia is a four-time Oceania Football Confederation
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
(OFC) champion and has been represented at three FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
tournaments, in 1974
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
, 2006
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
and 2010
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Australia topped their group in the 2010 World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify...
without losing a match and only conceding one goal, and became one of the first nations to qualify for the finals tournament
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
: during the qualification, they reached their highest placing, 14th, in the FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
. However, Australia failed to progress past the group stage in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
History
The first Australian national team was constituted in 1922 for a tour of New Zealand. During the tour, Australia suffered two defeats and scraped a draw. Australia, New Zealand, Republic of ChinaChinese Taipei national football team
The Chinese Taipei national football team is the official name given by FIFA to the national association football team of the Republic of China ....
and South Africa
South Africa national football team
The South Africa national football team represents South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is Soccer City, known as FNB Stadium due to a naming rights deal, in...
became regular opponents in "Test" or "Friendly" matches for the next 25 years. With the advent of cheap air travel, Australia diversified its range of opponents. However, its geographical isolation continued to play a role in its destiny for the next 80 years.
A historical win
On 11 April 2001 in a qualifying match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, Australia beat American Samoa with an extraordinary, unexpected result of 31–0. Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
, the Australian forward and number 20, scored an amazing 13 goals in Nicky Salapu
Nicky Salapu
Nicky Salapu is an American Samoan association football goalkeeper who previously played for PanSa East. He left the club in December 2008. He also played for SC Mauerbach in the lower divisions of Austrian league....
's goal in the 12th, 23rd, 27th, 29th, 32nd, 37th, 42nd, 45th, 56th, 60th, 65th, 85th and 88th minutes, with unexpected mistakes by Nicky, even though saving many hard shots from the Australian players, some of them from the first 10 minutes of the game.
Early FIFA World Cup campaigns
The Australian national team first played at the World Cup finals in West Germany in 19741974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
after having missed out in play-offs in 1966
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
and 1970
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
, losing to North Korea and Israel
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...
respectively. It would prove to be their only appearance until 2006
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
The road to the 1974 World Cup began with a series of home and away matches against Iraq
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
, New Zealand, and Indonesia
Indonesia national football team
The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia . Prior to independence in 1945, the team competed as the Dutch East Indies national football team. Under this name, Indonesia was the first Asian team to...
. The Socceroos, having won this tournament, then played and won a two-legged fixture against one of the Socceroos' biggest rivals Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...
, managing to hold on to a slim overall lead in front of 120,000 Iranian fans in the Azadi Stadium
Azadi Stadium
The Azadi Stadium formerly Aryamehr Stadium is Iran's national stadium and the largest in the country. The Azadi stadium officially has a capacity of 100,000 people and was built to host the 1974 Asian Games...
, Tehran, during the second leg. South Korea, having itself knocked out Israel
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...
at the equivalent stage, was then drawn as Australia's final hurdle. Over the course of another two-legged playoff the scores remained even, and so a deciding match was played in Hong Kong. Australia won this match, through a Jimmy Mackay
Jimmy Mackay
James Birrell "Jimmy" Mackay is a former football player. He was a member of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany....
goal, scored off a free kick.
Australia were drawn into Group A consisting of hosts and favourites West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
, East Germany
East Germany national football team
The East Germany national football team was from 1952 to 1990 the football team of East Germany, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany....
and Chile
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...
. Australia held the East German's 0–0 at half-time before defender Colin Curran
Colin Curran
Colin John Curran is a former football defender. He was a member of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany and represented Australia 34 times between 1970 and 1979.-See also:...
deflected the ball into his own net early in the second half. East German striker Joachim Streich
Joachim Streich
Joachim Streich is a former East German footballer, who won the bronze medal with East Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich....
then secured the points with a goal half-way through the second half, with the game finishing 2–0. Australia lost their following match to West Germany 3–0 with goals to Wolfgang Overath
Wolfgang Overath
Wolfgang Overath is a former West German football player. He represented his country three times in World Cup finals, culminating in 1974 with victory on home soil...
, Bernhard Cullmann
Bernhard Cullmann
Bernhard Cullmann, nicknamed "Bernd", is a former German footballer.He began his footballing career in 1969 with SpVgg Porz, until he was signed by 1. FC Köln in 1970. He played 341 matches in the Bundesliga for them before his retirement on health grounds in 1983. He played 40 matches for the...
and star-striker Gerd Müller
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller is a former German football player and one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time.With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was one of the...
. Having lost both their opening games, Australia could not proceed further in the tournament and the Australians managed to hold Chile to a scoreless draw, seeing Australia earn its first ever World Cup finals point. It was to be the last appearance for the Australian team until the World Cup tournament returned to Germany more than three decades later. Over that 32 year time span, the Australian team was known for its near misses in its attempts to qualify for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, most notably 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
against Iran and 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
against Uruguay.
Before that, they lost play-offs in 1966 (to North Korea), 1970 (to Israel), 1986 (to Scotland), and 1994 (to Argentina) and even lost to Fiji in the OFC qualifying matches in 1988 1–0.
1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign
Australia's road to USA 941994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
is an example of the difficult qualifying path which members of the Oceania confederation have had to endure. In order to qualify for USA 94, Australia had to endure 3 playoff stages. The first stage was the Oceania playoff. Australia finished on top of Group 1 in Oceania going undefeated in four games against weaker sides Tahiti
Tahiti national football team
The Tahiti national football team is the national team of French Polynesia and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football.They finished second in the OFC Nations Cup in its first three installments, 1973, 1980, and 1996. In 2009 the under 20 team qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in...
and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands national football team
The Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...
and scoring thirteen goals over the four games. Australia played New Zealand in the Oceania playoff. The first leg was played in New Zealand on 30 May 1993, with Australia winning the game 1–0. Australia won the return leg 3–0 to win the playoff stage with a 4–0 aggregate score. Having won the Oceania playoff, Australia now had to win a 2-leg playoff against Canada
Canada men's national soccer team
The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
, the CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
runner up. The first leg was played in Canada on 31 July 1993, with the Canadians winning the 1st leg 2–1. In the second leg, which was played on 15 August 1993 in Sydney, Australia managed a 2–1 win which saw the game go into extra time after a 3–3 aggregate scoreline. The game went into a penalty shootout which was won by Australia 4–1. Australia then qualified for the 2-leg playoff against the South American group 1 runner up, Argentina. The first leg was played in Sydney on 31 October 1993. The 1st leg ended with a 1–1 draw. On 17 November 1993, the second leg was played in Argentina, with Argentina winning 1–0 and denying Australia a place at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. After the game Argentine legend Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
was so impressed with the Socceroos performance that he said to then captain Paul Wade "Your tears of pain, will one day be tears of joy". Just to qualify for the 1994 World Cup Australia would have had to beat Argentina, the runners-up from the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
, and ranked 9th in the world at that time.
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign
In 1997 Australia failed to qualify for the World Cup finals despite being undefeated in the qualifying rounds. After winning the OFCOceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
qualifying tournament
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification....
, Australia had to play Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...
over two legs in one week, with the winner progressing to the World Cup finals
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
to be held in France. Australia, under coach Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
, tied the away leg 1–1 and looked like they were going to proceed to the finals in France, initially leading 2–0 in the home game in Melbourne, until Iran managed to score two late goals to tie the game and progress to the finals on the away goals rule. This match has been named one of the most memorable matches by many of the retired Australian and Iranian football players. At the time the crowd that packed the MCG was the highest ever for an association football match in Australia.
2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign
In 2001 Australia again won the qualifying tournament2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
for 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
. Second and third-string line-ups thrashed a number of tiny island nations in a competition that made a mockery of the Confederation, including a world-record 22–0 win against Tonga
Tonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
, then smashed that record with a 31–0 win over American Samoa only two days later. Still missing Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
and Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
, Australia comfortably beat New Zealand, their only real threat in the Oceania confederation. Australia then once again had to win a two leg playoff in November, in order to advance to the World Cup finals to be held in South Korea and Japan.
On this occasion the opposition was the 5th placed South American team, Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
. In the preceding four months Uruguay's preparation had been six World Cup qualifying matches
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification....
, as follows: beat #2 ranked Brazil 1:0; drew 1:1 with #8 ranked Colombia; drew 1:1 with #2 ranked Argentina. In contrast, Australia's preparation had included no qualifying games since two matches in 4 days in June, against #81 ranked New Zealand, although had played two friendly matches – a loss to Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
in August and a 1:1 draw with France in November.
In the first leg in Melbourne, Australia won 1–0 after Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat is an Australian football player who currently plays for Victorian State League Division 1 side Sunshine George Cross and is assistant coach of Melbourne Victory...
scored from a penalty kick; however, Australia's qualification campaign ended unsuccessfully as they lost 3–0 in the away leg in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
just five days later with the South Americans proving too strong.
Outside qualification campaigns
The team's previously poor record in World Cup competition was not reflected in their reasonable performances against strong European and South American sides. In 1988, Australia defeated Argentina 4–1 in the Bicentennial Gold CupAustralia Bicentenary Gold Cup
The 1988 Australian Bicentennial Gold Cup was a one-off football tournament to celebrate the bincentennial of first settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788...
. In 1997, Australia drew with Brazil 0–0 in the group stage and then defeated Uruguay 1–0 in the semi-finals to reach the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final
1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final
The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final was a football match to determine the winners of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match was held at King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 21 December 1997 and was contested by Brazil and Australia. Brazil won the match 6–0.- Route to the final...
. In 2001, after a victory against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
in the group stage, Australia finished the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:2 goals Shaun Murphy Éric Carrière Robert Pirès Patrick Vieira Sylvain Wiltord Takayuki Suzuki Hwang Sun-Hong...
in 3rd place after defeating Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
1–0 in the Bronze Final. Australia also drew with France 1–1 in Melbourne in November 2001. Another highlight for Australian football was the 3–1 victory over England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in a friendly in London in 2003.
2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign
In 2004, the team took the first steps towards qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
by topping the round-robin stage of the Oceania Football Confederation World Cup qualification tournament
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Oceania. 12 teams took part, competing for a place in the intercontinental play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America...
. The team drew 2–2 with the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands national football team
The Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...
, which combined with other results put that team ahead of New Zealand in the standings and meaning that the Solomon Islands qualified for the final playoff rather than the expected New Zealand.
Coach Frank Farina
Frank Farina
Frank Farina OAM is a retired Australian football player. He most currently coaches the Papua New Guinea national football team....
stood down from the position by "mutual consent" on 29 June 2005 after Australia failed to win a game at the 2005 Confederations Cup
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Awards:-Goal scorers:5 goals Adriano4 goals Luciano Figueroa John Aloisi Michael Ballack...
, citing ever increasing speculation over his position. On 22 July, Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
was announced by FIFA as the new national coach. This announcement came after intense speculation by the Australian media over potential candidates and even a premature announcement from Hiddink himself. Hiddink combined his roles as manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven with that of Australia, and remained the coach of Australia until the end of the Australian team's 2006 World Cup campaign, after which he accepted a position coaching Russia.
After some initial training sessions with the Australian team in the Netherlands, his first campaign as national coach resulted in a 11–1 aggregate win over the Solomon Islands in the OFC Qualifying Tournament Final. The remaining task for Hiddink and Australia was the Oceania-South America playoff
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL – OFC play-off)
The 2006 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL – OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament, Uruguay....
against the fifth placed team from the CONMEBOL Qualifying Tournament
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for South America. 10 teams took part, all in a single group. The rules were very simple: the teams would play against each other in a home-and-away basis, with the four teams with most points qualifying to...
for a place in the World Cup.
In October 2005, Australia beat Jamaica
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...
5–0 in a friendly in London. The win was the Socceroos' biggest win against a team ranked higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings list and also Australia's biggest win against a country which has participated in the World Cup.
Australia, ranked #49, then moved on to play 18th ranked Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
in a rematch of the qualifying matches in 2001. Again, there was a huge contrast in preparation. Australia had only two recent qualifying matches, against #138 Solomon Islands, only three days apart. Uruguay's preparation had included four qualifying matches, in the previous two months, including: beaten #26 Colombia, drawn with #33 Ecuador, and beaten #4 Argentina.
Fearing a repeat of security problems which occurred in Montevideo in 2001, Australia announced that they would hold their training sessions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and would only stay in Montevideo for the game. Uruguay called for the first leg to be moved a day earlier, to 11 November. This idea was rejected by Australia. As a result, Uruguay had announced that they had moved the kick off time back five hours to 9:00 pm local time on 12 November. This meant that Australia would miss their direct flight back to Sydney for the second leg. This would also mean that Uruguay would have an extra day of preparation for the second leg.
However, this plan backfired on the Uruguayans. Their plans to charter a plane for a direct flight to Sydney fell through (they ended up flying over in economy class
Economy class
__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....
seating on a regular commercial flight). When Uruguay asked to move the kickoff back, Australia, which by that time had arranged, with their sponsor Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, a specially fitted out 767 (which included massage tables, and much room and space) for immediately after the game, refused. Eventually, FIFA stepped in and ordered the kickoff moved back to 6:00 pm local time.
Darío Rodríguez
Octavio Darío Rodríguez Peña is an Uruguayan footballer who currently plays as a Left back for Peñarol. He was capped 51 times for the Uruguay national team.-Club career:...
. Australia had the better of their Uruguayan opponents for a lot of the match, but they could not capitalise on their opportunities. In Sydney, on 16 November for the second leg of the qualifying series and in front of 82,698 fans at Telstra Stadium
Telstra Stadium
Stadium Australia, currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct of Homebush Bay...
, Australia led Uruguay 1–0 after 90 minutes following a goal by Mark Bresciano
Mark Bresciano
Mark "Marco" Bresciano is an Australian football player who is currently playing for UAE Pro-League side Al Nasr SC as a midfielder. He represented Australia at all youth levels, including appearances at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship and 2000 Olympic Games...
in the first half. The aggregate was tied, and extra time was played. Neither team scored after two periods of extra time, bringing the game to a penalty shootout. Australia won the penalty shootout 4–2, making Australia the only team to ever qualify for a World Cup via a penalty shootout. Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
made two saves and John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
scored the winning penalty.
The resulting win led to scenes of celebration across the country, as the Socceroos qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, their first qualification in 32 years.
Immediately after that qualification, Australia went into the 2006 World Cup as the second lowest-ranked side. Their ranking on the FIFA World Rankings improved in subsequent months, leapfrogging other qualified countries.
Acceptance into the AFC
Many commentators and fans felt that the only way for Australia to progress was to abandon the Oceania Football ConfederationOceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
. Football had developed over time to place increasing importance on tournaments rather than friendly matches. This established the Continental championships and their qualifiers as the major source of competitive matches for national teams. This served to starve Australia of potential opponents and resulted in long gaps between fixtures for the national team.
Football broadcaster and former Socceroos captain Johnny Warren
Johnny Warren
John Norman Warren, MBE, OAM was an Australian football player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster. He was known as Captain Socceroo for his passionate work to promote the game in Australia...
, expressed his desire for Australia to join Asia. Despite previous attempts to do so, each notoriously ending in failure, a story was leaked from Tokyo in March 2005 suggesting that FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
had entered into secret discussions with the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
on this very issue. On 23 March, the AFC Executive Committee made a unanimous decision to invite Australia to join the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
.
AFC President, Mohammed Bin Hammam
Mohammed Bin Hammam
Mohamed bin Hammam is a Qatari who was formerly a football administrator and president of the Asian Football Confederation from 1 August 2002 to 14 June 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011 for more than 15 years...
, outlined reasons for this decision.
- As well as being a developed football nation, Australia brings a developed economy and this is actually what we want in football. Besides Japan, Korea, China and Saudi Arabia if Australia joins the benefits are huge, this is what we're after.
On 17 April, the OFC executive committee unanimously endorsed Australia's proposed move. FIFA approved the move on 30 June, and it took effect on 1 January 2006. Earlier, on 1 December, the AFC Executive Committee announced that Australia would be put into the ASEAN
ASEAN Football Federation
ASEAN Football Federation is a subset of nations within the Asian Football Confederation from Southeast Asia. ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations. The AFF was founded in 1984 by the nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Cambodia, Laos,...
zone. Currently, Australia is an invitee member of ASEAN Football Federation
ASEAN Football Federation
ASEAN Football Federation is a subset of nations within the Asian Football Confederation from Southeast Asia. ASEAN stands for Association of South East Asian Nations. The AFF was founded in 1984 by the nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.Cambodia, Laos,...
.
Australia was duly entered into the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification. On 4 January, Australia was drawn into group D, alongside Bahrain
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
, Lebanon
Lebanon national football team
The Lebanon national football team represents the Republic of Lebanon in international association football. Their official nickname is The Cedars...
and Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
. Lebanon later withdrew due to recent military conflict in the area. Australia's first game as a member of the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
was on 22 February, a 3–1 win away to Bahrain
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification was held in late 2005 and the final qualification round was held from February to November 2006 with 25 nations participating....
. They subsequently qualified for the finals
2007 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
on 16 August after defeating Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
2–0.
Preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Australia was placed into 2006 World Cup Group F2006 FIFA World Cup - Group F
Play in Group F of the 2006 FIFA World Cup completed on 22 June 2006. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Australia receiving runner-up in the group...
, along with Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
, Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
and defending champions Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
.
In late December 2005, Coach Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
appointed former Dutch player, Johan Neeskens
Johan Neeskens
Johannes Jacobus "Johan" Neeskens is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups. Former England manager Alf Ramsey said Neeskens was "as good as any player" in...
, as Assistant Coach, to work alongside Graham Arnold, Ron Smith, Tony Franken and Anthony Crea.
On 13 February 2006, Australia launched a new home and away strip for the World Cup. The home strip, similar to the 1974
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
outfit, is an entirely yellow shirt with green shorts. The away strip is entirely obsidian blue with yellow trimmings (the heraldic colours of Australia). The jerseys were launched at a lavish ceremony at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in Berlin. On 17 March 2006, the FIFA World Cup trophy visited Sydney on its tour around the world.
While the team was preparing for the World Cup, Socceroos player Tony Vidmar
Tony Vidmar
Anthony "Tony" Vidmar is an Australian former professional football player of Slovenian origin. He was a member of the Australian national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for his native country, and is currently Australia's third highest capped player...
was ruled out after being diagnosed with a heart condition. In all, the squad that won the qualification matches saw 5 changes in the lead-up the World Cup finals. Joel Griffiths
Joel Griffiths
Joel Griffiths is an Australian football player who currently plays for Beijing Guoan.-Club career:He played for Sydney United, Parramatta Power and Newcastle United in the now defunct National Soccer League...
, Ahmad Elrich, Ljubo Milicevic
Ljubo Milicevic
Ljubo Miličević is an Australian football player who currently plays for Hajduk Split in the Prva HNL.-Early Career and Overseas:...
, Tony Vidmar
Tony Vidmar
Anthony "Tony" Vidmar is an Australian former professional football player of Slovenian origin. He was a member of the Australian national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for his native country, and is currently Australia's third highest capped player...
and Michael Thwaite
Michael Thwaite
Michael Errol Thwaite is an Australian football player from Cairns who plays for Gold Coast United.-Club career:His career began at Sydney University in the New South Wales Winter Super League...
were replaced by Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Blake Kennedy is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Australia national association football team and Nagoya Grampus.- Club career :...
, Mile Sterjovski
Mile Sterjovski
Mile Sterjovski is an Australian football player, who currently plays for Perth Glory and played for the Australian national team from 2000 to 2010, before he retired from international football after his non-selection for the 2010 FIFA World Cup...
, Michael Beauchamp
Michael Beauchamp
Michael Francis Beauchamp is an Australian football player. He currently plays for Sydney FC. He was a member of the Australian 2006 World Cup squad.-Club career:...
, Craig Moore
Craig Moore
Craig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers...
and Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Daniel Milligan is an Australian football player who is currently playing for JEF United Ichihara Chiba. He was also the regular captain of the Australian Under 23 football team and has been capped for the junior Australian National team...
respectively.
As part of a national support effort for the Socceroos in Australia, the television network SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
ran a competition, "Song for the Socceroos", in order to select a World Cup anthem for the Socceroos.
The winning song "Green and Gold" was announced on 16 May.
On 25 May 2006 in Melbourne, Australia played a friendly against Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
, then current European Champions, and ranked #20 in FIFA rankings. Australia won 1–0 thanks to a Josip Skoko volley early on in the match. The match, at the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, was sold out in only 2 hours, and was a great sendoff for Australia from home soil, despite the questionable quality of the Greek performance.
Australia played the Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
in a friendly match in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
on 4 June. The Dutch, ranked #3 in the world, went ahead in the 9th minute after goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer parried a Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
shot, the Socceroos failed to clear the ball and van Nistelrooy scored with a follow-up strike. Australia's Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
equalised in the 53rd minute following a goal-line scramble after Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
hit the crossbar from a penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. The only blemish was the dismissal of defender Luke Wilkshire
Luke Wilkshire
Luke Wilkshire is an Australian football player who plays for Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League...
in the 61st minute, after a wild challenge on Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement....
. The next day, the Socceroos left for Germany.
Australia played a final pre-World Cup friendly against 123rd-ranked Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...
on 7 June. Defender Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
headed an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
in the 8th minute, giving Liechtenstein the lead until Mile Sterjovski
Mile Sterjovski
Mile Sterjovski is an Australian football player, who currently plays for Perth Glory and played for the Australian national team from 2000 to 2010, before he retired from international football after his non-selection for the 2010 FIFA World Cup...
equalised in the 20th. Australia struggled to gain a lead on their opponents until the final 15 minutes when a goal each from Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Blake Kennedy is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Australia national association football team and Nagoya Grampus.- Club career :...
and John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
won Australia the game 3–1.
2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
While in Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, the Socceroos stayed in the town of Öhringen
Öhringen
Öhringen is the largest city in Hohenlohe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railways to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.With a population of 22,745 , the city is diverse...
. Just days before Australia's first World Cup match against Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
, it was reported in the west that the Japan Football Association
Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
chairman claimed the Socceroos were "guilty of a lot of dirty fouls" and that "they target ankles in particular." However, a further scrutiny of the original Japanese script reveals that there was a misinterpretation by the western media, possibly to spice up the competition. While it is unclear who started this mistranslation, deliberately or otherwise, Saburo Kawabuchi of Japan Football Association
Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
later commented that this would not be the first or the last time mistranslation happens and should not be taken too seriously.
On 12 June, the Socceroos defeated Japan 3–1 in their opening game in Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
, with Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
scoring two goals (84', 89') and John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
scoring one (92+') in the last eight minutes to claim their first World Cup finals victory. An early controversial call by Egyptian referee Essam Abd El Fatah
Essam Abd El Fatah
Essam Abd El Fatah is an Egyptian football referee. Abd El Fatah has been a referee since 2001; his first international game was between Morocco and Sierra Leone in 2003. He was the referee for the match between Australia and Japan in the 2006 FIFA World Cup...
, that awarded a goal (26') to Shunsuke Nakamura
Shunsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos in J. League Division 1. He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Scotland and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League and the second Asian...
, despite an apparent foul to Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
, had the Australians playing catch-up until the last eight minutes. Schwarzer and Viduka claimed that Abd El Fatah apologised over allowing Nakamura's goal to stand after the incident, admitting he had made a mistake, although Abd El Fatah later denied making an apology and said that "FIFA's refereeing committee... agreed unanimously that Japan's goal against Australia was correct." Both Cahill and Aloisi came in as substitutes in the second half of the game. Their goals were the first ever scored by Australia in the World Cup Finals, and Australia became the first team in the 2006 tournament to come back after being 1–0 down. Also, no other team has scored three goals in the last seven minutes of a match in World Cup finals history.
On 18 June, hours before Australia's second game against world champions Brazil, a British newspaper claimed that several Australian players had placed bets amongst themselves, which was said to be against FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
regulations. Tim Cahill admitted that teammates Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
and Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
bet that Cahill would score the first ever Australian goal at the World Cup. Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
also said that the players were taking bets on who was going to be the first to score, and that goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac
Željko Kalac
Željko Kalac is a retired Australian football goalkeeper. Standing at 2.02m, Kalac is one of the world's tallest professional goalkeepers....
was the bookmaker. FIFA have since cleared all players of any wrongdoing, by interpreting their regulations as referring to betting with professional bookmakers, rather than betting within a team.
Australia met Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in their second Group F game in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 18 June. The Australians held Brazil to a 0–0 half time scoreline before Adriano
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...
put Brazil in front (49'). Brazil substitute Fred
Frederico Chaves Guedes
Frederico Chaves Guedes, nicknamed Fred , is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker for Brazilian club Fluminense....
scored (90') with the help of substitute Robinho
Robinho
Robson de Souza , more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club AC Milan...
to give Brazil a 2–0 win, which saw the Brazilians go through to the second round.
A day later, following the Brazil game, Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
was in hot water after an altercation with the referee from the Brazil game. FIFA announced that it would investigate the incident. On 20 June, charges were dismissed against Kewell due to "inconsistent reporting by match officials", allowing him to play the next game against Croatia.
On 22 June, Australia faced Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. The final score was 2–2. A goal from Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna is a Croatian footballer who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk as a captain and is also the captain of the Croatian national team.-Club career:Srna's talent was seen by many scouts in Croatia while he was young...
in the second minute put Australia on the back foot. Australia equalised with a penalty goal from Craig Moore
Craig Moore
Craig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers...
(38') after Croatian defender Stjepan Tomas
Stjepan Tomas
Stjepan Tomas is a Croatian football defender. He is currently a free agent following his release from Turkish side Bucaspor in November 2010....
handballed near the Croatian goal. Niko Kovac
Niko Kovac
Niko Kovač is a former Croatian footballer who last played as a midfielder for Red Bull Salzburg. He was the long-standing captain of Croatia before retiring from international football in January 2009...
gave Croatia a 2–1 lead after halftime before Australia equalised again through Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
(79') in a moment described by SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
broadcast commentator Simon Hill
Simon Hill
Simon Hill is an Australian-based association football commentator.-British-based work:After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 1990, Hill began his work in the field of journalism, initially writing for newspapers as a freelance author while studying for the NCTJ Pre-Entry Course in...
as "well, it just had to be Harry". Kewell appeared to be offside for the goal, in a match riddled with errors. The referee Graham Poll
Graham Poll
Graham Poll is an English former football referee in the Premier League and is considered the best English referee of the last 25 years in a list maintained by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics...
dismissed calls for a penalty in the 5th minute when Croatia's Josip Šimunić
Josip Šimunic
Josip Šimunić is a Croatian footballer who plays as a defender for Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team.-Club career:...
appeared to wrestle striker Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
to the ground near goal. Despite penalising Croatia for Stjepan Tomas' handball in the 39th minute, he failed to penalise Tomas for exactly the same deed in the 75th minute, when Australia were trying to equalise again. Towards the end of the match, Poll blew the final whistle at the moment that John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
scored what would have been a winning goal, and then blew the final whistle again, before presenting Simunic with three yellow cards and then sending him off after the final whistle. Here, Simunic is the world record holder for "Most Yellow Cards in a Football Match." Poll issued eight yellow cards resulting in three expulsions. Brett Emerton
Brett Emerton
Brett Michael Emerton is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney FC and the Australia national team...
was sent off for his second bookable offence (although he was already suspended for the next match for receiving his second yellow card of the group stage earlier in the match). The Daily Telegraph reported on 25 June that Graham Poll was dismissed from World Cup refereeing duties by FIFA, who claimed that his mistake was "unacceptable". As Brazil beat Japan 4–1, Australia proceeded to the next round to face Italy.
On 26 June, Australia met Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
in Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
. Kewell was unavailable for the game, entering the stadium on crutches reportedly suffering from an attack of gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
and infected blisters (later diagnosed as septic arthritis). The score at half-time was 0–0. Italy went down to 10 men due to the red card (51') given to Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi , is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently a free agent.At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for...
for a two-footed tackle on Mark Bresciano
Mark Bresciano
Mark "Marco" Bresciano is an Australian football player who is currently playing for UAE Pro-League side Al Nasr SC as a midfielder. He represented Australia at all youth levels, including appearances at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship and 2000 Olympic Games...
. Otherwise, six yellow cards were issued in total. Almost three minutes into stoppage time, with the score still at 0–0 and Australia being pushed into their own half, a controversial penalty was awarded to Italy when Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. Grosso is primarily a left wingback, but can also play as left back. He is also a free kick, penalty kick and corner kick specialist...
fell under a Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
challenge in the final seconds of the match. Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
scored from the spot (95') and the game ended immediately with Australia eliminated. Coach Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
officially ended his reign as the coach of the Socceroos following the 1–0 loss to Italy and took the managerial job with Russia. Australian assistant coach Graham Arnold
Graham Arnold
Graham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after...
branded the penalty a "joke", to the agreement of several Australian players, including Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
, who believed Grosso should have been cautioned for diving.
2007 AFC Asian Cup in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam
Australia, led by Graham ArnoldGraham Arnold
Graham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after...
, went to their first Asian Cup
2007 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
sending a strong squad which included 15 players from the World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
team. Australia was drawn in Group A alongside (co-host) Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
, Oman
Oman national football team
The Oman national football team is the national team of Oman. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed long before, and has established a proper football association in only December, 2005...
and Iraq
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
.
In their first match, Australia were only able to earn a 1–1 draw against a lower-ranked Oman
Oman national football team
The Oman national football team is the national team of Oman. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed long before, and has established a proper football association in only December, 2005...
team. Australia played poorly, with Oman leading for most of the match after Badar Al-Maimani
Badar Al-Maimani
Badar Al-Maimani commonly refer as Badar , born on July 16, 1984 is a Omani footballer who is a striker who currently plays for Muscat Club. He is a member of the Oman national football team. Al-Maimani is a key player in the attack on the national squad, and has been serving since 2003. Badar...
scored in the 32nd minute, but were once again saved by Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
who scored a late equaliser in the 92nd minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Australia lost their second group match 3–1 to eventual Asian Cup winners Iraq
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
, with Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
receiving a red card (90'), following two yellow cards. Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
scored the lone goal for the Australians in the 47th minute of the match which at that point in the game was the equaliser but Iraq
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
scored another two goals to win.
In the third match of the group stage, Australia defeated Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
4–0 with Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
scoring two goals, with Michael Beauchamp
Michael Beauchamp
Michael Francis Beauchamp is an Australian football player. He currently plays for Sydney FC. He was a member of the Australian 2006 World Cup squad.-Club career:...
and Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
scoring one goal each. The victory assured Australia's progression to the quarter final stage of the tournament.
After drawing 1–1 with Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
after extra time, Australia exited the tournament on penalties at the quarter final stage. The first two Australian penalty kicks were both unsuccessful by Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
and Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
with Australia eventually bowing out 4–3 to end their inaugural participation in Asia's most prestigious football tournament.
In a friendly international at the MCG on 11 September 2007, the Socceroos were defeated by Argentina one goal to nil. The friendly was Graham Arnold's last game as head coach. It had been widely speculated that Dutchman Dick Advocaat
Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat is a Dutch football manager and former player currently the manager of the Russia national football team.He has been moderately successful as a football player and as a coach, which included two stints with the Dutch national football team...
would take over as Head Coach for the Socceroos 2010 World Cup Qualifiers by the end of 2007 but he backed out of a contract with the FFA to continue coaching Zenit Petersburg. It has been reported that FFA is considering legal action against both person and club. As a result the Socceroo's head coach position was left open, with technical director Rob Baan the caretaker for a match against Nigeria at Loftus Road, London (Australia winning 1–0.) The position was filled on 6 December 2007 when the FFA announced Pim Verbeek as the new head coach.
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign
The Socceroos were seeded to enter the AFC qualification campaign2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify...
in the third round alongside Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...
, South Korea and Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
. They were drawn into a group composed of Qatar
Qatar national football team
The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
, Iraq
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
and China
China national football team
The China PR national football team is the national association football team of the People's Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association...
with the media dubbing it the "group of death". Fixtures started in February 2008, with a home match against Qatar at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne giving Australia a 3–0 victory. This was Pim Verbeek's first competitive match in charge of the Socceroos. The majority of the Australian squad consisted of overseas, mainly European based, players after Pim Verbeek announced the local A-league was not yet up to World Cup standards. A week after the match, Australia moved up to 38th on the FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
.
In the second group game, Australia drew 0–0 with China with Mark Schwarzer saving a penalty in the last few minutes. In their 3rd out of 6 qualifiers on Sunday, 1 June, Australia beat Iraq at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 1–0, with a headed goal from Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
proving the difference between the two teams early in the 2nd half of play. In the return match in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Iraq defeated Australia 1–0 through a wonder strike from Emad Mohammed
Emad Mohammed
Emad Mohammed Ridha is an Iraqi football striker who currently plays for Sepahan in Iran Pro League and the Iraq national football team. Emad Mohammed has been a regular starter for Iraq ever since he played for the youth national team...
. Australia then defeated Qatar 3–1 on 14 June in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
to progress to the fourth round of the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
qualifiers. Their final game in 3rd round qualifying ended in a 1–0 home defeat to China
China national football team
The China PR national football team is the national association football team of the People's Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association...
.
Australia was drawn alongside Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
, Bahrain
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
, Qatar
Qatar national football team
The Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
and Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan national football team
The Uzbekistan national football team represents Uzbekistan in association football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Uzbekistan...
in the fourth round of Asian World Cup qualification, which commenced with a 1–0 victory over the Uzbeks in Tashkent on 10 September 2008. Scott Chipperfield's run was unmarked and he comfortably headed in a Luke Wilkshire cross. They then proceeded to beat Qatar 4–0 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, to go top of the group, with goals scored by Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy with Brett Emerton scoring a brace for the home side. The game was delayed 30min (and close to abandoned) after a torrential rainstorm hit Brisbane Stadium prior to the match. Their next match was against Bahrain on 19 November. Australia managed a 1–0 victory despite a brilliant performance by the Bahrainis and a disappointing performance by Australia. Both the Australian coach and players admitted they were lucky to take the points which came courtesy of a Marco Bresciano goal in the 93rd minute. They dedicated the win to Craig Moore who missed the match following surgery for testicular cancer. Australia remained top of the group with 10 points after 4 games following a 0–0 draw away against Japan. The Socceroos were on the brink of qualifying after a convincing 2–0 win over Uzbekistan on 1 April in Sydney. After a lacklustre first half, the Socceroos scored two goals with a Josh Kennedy header in the 66th minute and a Harry Kewell penalty in the 73rd minute after Richard Garcia was taken down in the penalty box. Australia then secured their place in South Africa after holding Qatar 0–0 at Doha on 5 June.
Australia's qualification was already assured before the final two games, both home fixtures. In Sydney on Wednesday 10 June, goals to Mile Sterjovski and David Carney
David Carney
David Raymond Carney is an Australian football player who plays left winger for Spanish club AD Alcorcón and as a left-back or left winger for the Australian national team.- Junior career :...
gave Australia a 2–0 victory over Bahrain. Australia's final qualification game ended with a 2–1 victory over Japan, Australia coming back from a goal in the 40th minute by Japan's Marcus Tulio Tanaka with Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
's equalising header in the 59th minute, and his winning goal 17 minutes later off a Nicky Carle corner. This victory left Australia top of Group A ahead of Japan by 5 clear points.
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
Australia were drawn into Group D2010 FIFA World Cup Group D
Group D of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 13 June and ended on 23 June 2010. The group consisted of Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana. Along with Group G, it was considered to be a group of death....
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring three-time world champion Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
, Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
and Serbia
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
.
Prior to leaving for South Africa, Australia played a warm-up game in Melbourne against New Zealand. Australia played poorly with Vince Grella
Vince Grella
Vincenzo "Vince" Grella is an Australian football player, who plays as a midfielder for Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League...
and Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
both performing dangerous tackles on Leo Bertos
Leo Bertos
Leonida Christos "Leo" Bertos is a New Zealand association football player who plays as an attacking midfielder or right winger for New Zealand-based A-League team Wellington Phoenix and has represented the New Zealand national football team.-Early life:Bertos was born in Wellington, to a Greek...
which could have earned red cards in competitive fixtures. Despite trailing 1–0 at half-time, Australia managed to equalize through Dario Vidosic
Dario Vidosic
Dario Vidošić is an Australian football player who currently plays for A-League club Adelaide United.- Club career :- Early life :...
in the second half, with Brett Holman
Brett Holman
Brett Trevor Holman is an Australian professional football player. He currently plays as a attacking midfielder or left winger for the Dutch Eredivisie club AZ and the Australia national football team.-Early life:...
scoring the winner in injury time for a 2–1 victory.
In South Africa, Australia played another warm up game against Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and won 1–0, a single goal from towering striker Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Kennedy
Joshua Blake Kennedy is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Australia national association football team and Nagoya Grampus.- Club career :...
proving to be decisive. Australia's final warm up game before beginning their World Cup campaign was against United States
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
with Australia suffering a 3–1 defeat and Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
scoring the only goal.
On 14 June 2010, Australia faced Germany in Durban. Pim Verbeek surprisingly chose to play without a recognised striker. Australia were comprehensively defeated 4–0, with goals by Podolski and Klose in the first half, followed by two more goals in the second half after Australia was reduced to ten men, due to Tim Cahill being sent off with a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bayern Munich and the German national team. A right-footed player, he is capable of playing out wide or in a more central role....
. Pim Verbeek was heavily criticised for his tactics, with chief SBS Football Analyst Craig Foster calling for his immediate sacking.
Australia's second group match against Ghana
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
resulted in a draw of 1–1. Australia shot its only goal early in the first half by Brett Holman
Brett Holman
Brett Trevor Holman is an Australian professional football player. He currently plays as a attacking midfielder or left winger for the Dutch Eredivisie club AZ and the Australia national football team.-Early life:...
after Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson
Richard Kingson
Richard Paul Franck Kingson is a Ghanaian professional football goalkeeper, who is currently a free agent. He is also known as Faruk Gürsoy and is frequently misnamed Kingston due to "irregularity on his identity documents"...
fumbled the ball following a Mark Bresciano
Mark Bresciano
Mark "Marco" Bresciano is an Australian football player who is currently playing for UAE Pro-League side Al Nasr SC as a midfielder. He represented Australia at all youth levels, including appearances at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship and 2000 Olympic Games...
freekick. Shortly after, a goal-bound strike from Ghana's Jonathan Mensah
Jonathan Mensah
Jonathan Mensah is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who currently plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Evian Thonon Gaillard F.C...
was blocked on the goal line by Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
's upper arm, resulting in a penalty kick and a straight red card for Kewell. Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Emirati club Al Ain in the UAE Pro-League , and the Ghana national team....
scored the equalizing goal. Despite the man advantage, Ghana were mostly limited to long-range shots on Australia's goal, and some desperate defending from Australia saw the game finish a draw.
In their final group match against Serbia
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
, Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
was back from suspension and scored via a header in the second half to allow Australia to go 1–0 up. Only four minutes later, Brett Holman
Brett Holman
Brett Trevor Holman is an Australian professional football player. He currently plays as a attacking midfielder or left winger for the Dutch Eredivisie club AZ and the Australia national football team.-Early life:...
doubled the scoreline to 2–0 with an impressive long-range effort. Late in the second half, Serbia managed to score a late goal through Marko Pantelić
Marko Pantelic
Marko Pantelić is a Serbian footballer, who plays for Olympiacos.-Early years:...
after Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
fumbled the ball, and the game ended 2–1. Germany had defeated Ghana 1–0, which meant that both Australia and Ghana finished on 4 points, but Ghana progressed to the knockout stage due to their superior goal difference. Pim Verbeek completed his term as Australian coach at the end of the 2010 World Cup.
2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The Socceroos were drawn in Group B for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifying stage along with Oman, Kuwait and Indonesia. The top two teams from the group progressed to the finals in Qatar. Australia progressed through to the 2011 finals in Qatar, topping Group B with 11 points with Kuwait coming in second with 8 points.2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar
After qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup2011 AFC Asian Cup
The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup...
, Australia were drawn against Bahrain
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
, India
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
and South Korea
Korea Republic national football team
The Korea Republic national football team represents Korea Republic in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association. Korea Republic is the most successful Asian football team in the history of the FIFA World Cup having participated in eight World Cup tournaments,...
in Group C. After defeating India 4–0 and drawing 1–1 with South Korea, the Socceroos went into the match against Bahrain needing only a point to progress. The Socceroos won 1–0 and topped their group. On 23 January, Australia edged Iraq, 1–0, in the quarterfinal. The match went into extra time with Harry Kewell heading in a goal in the 117th minute just inside the 18-yard box. Australia went on to destroy Uzbekistan, 6–0, in the semifinals to set up a final against Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
on 29 January, which they lost in extra time 1–0, becoming runners-up.
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
After a number of promising games under new manager, Holger Osieck, including a highly successful 2011 Asian Cup campaign, preparations got underway for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification sees teams competing for berths in the final tournament in Brazil...
. The Asian qualifiers began in September and prior to these crucial encounters, FFA organised a number of friendlies against the All Whites, Serbia, Wales and Malaysia. In March 2011, the Socceroos scheduled a game against world footballing powerhouse, Germany in Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
, and came out victorious defeating them 2–1. On 5 June Australia defeated New Zealand 3-0 in Adelaide. Two days later they drew 0-0 with Serbia in Melbourne. On 31 July, Australia got drawn in Group D along with Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand. On 10 August, Australia played Wales in a friendly match in Cardiff, with Australia coming away victorious 2-1. Tim Cahill and Robbie Kruse scored the goals for Australia. The Group stages started on 2 September.
The Socceroos didn't start well in their first game at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane against Thailand and were lucky to eek out the three points after going down 1-0 courtesy of a Teerasil Dangda goal for Thailand. Josh Kennedy and Alex Brousque cancelled out Teerasil's strike to give Australia a 2-1 win. The Socceroos then travelled to Saudi Arabia the match was expected to be Australia's toughest match in the group but the Socceroos put in a good performance and ran out 3-1 winners with Josh Kennedy netting twice and Luke Wilkshire converting from the penalty spot. Before the third qualifying match, Australia played Asian minnows Malaysia in Canberra. Given they were in the middle of an Asian qualifying tournament, coach Holger Osieck felt it was better for his team to play against an Asian opponent, instead of a European of South American team. He felt they would get more benefit playing a quick tempo Asian style, as opposed to a stronger, more physical European style. Australia won the match 5-0. Luke Wilkshire scored an early goal, before a double each to Josh Kennedy and Alex Brosque sealed a comfortable win. While the match had its detractors, the hit-out proved necessary. The next match against Oman was to be played in Sydney. Josh Kennedy continued his fantastic goal scoring form with one goal, Mile Jedinak and Brett Holman contributed goals as the Socceroos ran out 3-0 victors. The Socceroos then had to go to Muscat, Oman to play their 4th match in Group D. Many thought that Australia would ease past Oman due to Oman's poor performance in the game in Sydney but Oman stunned Australia winning 1-0 in a tightly contested match in which Australia were disallowed a goal which many thought should have counted. The Australian team then proceeded to defeat Thailand 1-0 at home which ensured that they will top the group and thus qualify for the next round of qualifying with 1 game to spare in the third round.
2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia
The AFC Asian Cup in 2015 will take place in Australia. Australia have already qualified as hosts and runner-up of the 2011 series. Iraq, Japan and South Korea have also qualified.FIFA World Cup
| FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body... |
FIFA World Cup Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | |||||||||||||
 19301930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930... |
Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
 19341934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19381938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19501950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19541954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19581958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19621962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. It was won by Brazil, who retained the championship by beating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 19661966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as... |
Did Not Qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||||||||
 19701970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by... |
9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 8 | |||||||||
 19741974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded... |
Group Stage | 14th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 10 | |
 19781978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth... |
Did Not Qualify | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 11 | ||||||||
 19821982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:... |
8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 9 | |||||||||
| 1986 1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially... |
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 4 | |||||||||
 19901990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated... |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 7 | |||||||||
 19941994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988... |
10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 7 | |||||||||
| 1998 1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final... |
8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |||||||||
  20022002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0... |
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 4 | |||||||||
 20062006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six... |
Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 5 | |
 20102010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010... |
Group Stage | 21st | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 4 | |
 20142014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.... |
To Be Determined | ||||||||||||||
 20182018 FIFA World Cup The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were selected. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was... |
|||||||||||||||
 20222022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the 22nd FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that is scheduled to take place in 2022 in Qatar. The competition is scheduled to take place in June and July, although proposals have been made for a winter season. The tournament will involve... |
|||||||||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 3/19 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 105 | 60 | 26 | 19 | 286 | 83 | |
FIFA Confederations Cup
| FIFA Confederations Cup record FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup is an association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four years by FIFA. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships , along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, to bring the number of teams... |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||
 19921992 King Fahd Cup -Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Goalscorers:2 goals Gabriel Batistuta Bruce Murray1 goal Alberto Acosta Ricardo Altamirano... |
No OFC Representative was Invited | |||||||
| 1995 1995 King Fahd Cup -Group B:---------Third place play-off:-Final:-Goalscorers:3 goals Luis García2 goals Gabriel Batistuta Peter Rasmussen Daniel Amokachi1 goal José Chamot Ariel Ortega Sebastián Rambert Brian Laudrup Michael Laudrup... |
||||||||
| 1997 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:7 goals Romário5 goals Vladimír Šmicer4 goals Ronaldo-References:... |
Runners-up 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final was a football match to determine the winners of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match was held at King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 21 December 1997 and was contested by Brazil and Australia. Brazil won the match 6–0.- Route to the final... |
2nd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 1999 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:6 goals Cuauhtémoc Blanco Marzouq Al-Otaibi Ronaldinho4 goals Alex3 goals José Manuel Abundis Zé Roberto-Notes:... |
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 2001 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:2 goals Shaun Murphy Éric Carrière Robert Pirès Patrick Vieira Sylvain Wiltord Takayuki Suzuki Hwang Sun-Hong... |
Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2003 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivien Foé, who died of heart failure in his side's... |
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 2005 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Awards:-Goal scorers:5 goals Adriano4 goals Luciano Figueroa John Aloisi Michael Ballack... |
Group Stage | 8th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 2009 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009 as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match was played at Ellis Park... |
Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 2013 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup will be held in Brazil in 2013, as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The tournament is expected to be held from 15–30 June 2013... |
||||||||
| 2017 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is expected to be held in June 2017, as a prelude to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The host will be Russia as announced on 2 December 2010.- Qualified Teams :... |
To Be Determined | |||||||
| 2021 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup is expected to be held in June 2021, as a prelude to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The host will be Qatar as announced on 2 December 2010.- Qualified Teams : Excluding possible participation at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.... |
||||||||
| Total | Runners-up | 3/9 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
OFC Nations Cup
| OFC Nations Cup record OFC Nations Cup The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the Oceania Football Confederation member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the name Oceania Nations Cup... |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||
 19731973 OFC Nations Cup The 1973 OFC Nations Cup was the first Oceania-wide tournament ever held. It took place in New Zealand from 17 February 1973–24 February 1973... |
Did Not Enter | |||||||
 19801980 OFC Nations Cup -Group B:-Third Place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=433&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010.... |
Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 1996 1996 OFC Nations Cup The 1996 OFC Nations Cup was not held as a cohesive tournament, but consisted of semi-finals and a final played on a two-legged basis, stretched out between November 1995 and November 1996.... |
Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
 19981998 OFC Nations Cup -Results:-Match schedule:---------Knockout rounds:-Semifinals:-----Third place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=431&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010.... |
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 3 |
 20002000 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands and Vanuatu* qualified for Oceania Nations Cup 2000* Fiji were replaced by Vanuatu .-Polynesia Cup 2000:--------------------------------------------... |
Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 2002 2002 OFC Nations Cup -Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Knockout Rounds:-Semi-Finals:----... |
Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 2 |
| 2004 2004 OFC Nations Cup The 2004 OFC Nations Cup doubled as the qualification tournament to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, except the two-legged final .... |
Champions | 1st | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 4 |
| Total | Champions | 6/9 | 28 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 142 | 11 |
- Australia left OFCOceania Football ConfederationThe Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
at the end of 2005.
AFC Asian Cup
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
    20072007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi... |
Quarter-Final | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| 2011 2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup... |
Runners-up 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final The 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match that took place on 29 January 2011 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, to determine the winner of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. The match was won by Japan, defeating Australia 1–0 after extra time through a goal scored by Tadanari Lee... |
2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 |
| 2015 2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup will be the 16th edition of the AFC Asian Cup. The finals will be hosted by Australia and held from the 4 to 26 January 2015.-Host selection:... |
Hosts | |||||||
| Total | Runners-up | 3/16 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 7 |
- Australia joined AFCAsian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
in 2006.
Other records
Australia currently hold the world record for the largest win and the most goals scored by a player in an international match. Both records were recorded during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....
match against American Samoa
American Samoa national soccer team
The American Samoa national association football team represents American Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body for football in American Samoa. American Samoa's home ground is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pago Pago and their...
on 11 April 2001. Australia won 31–0 with Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
scoring 13 goals and David Zdrilic
David Zdrilic
David Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...
scoring 8 goals. Two days before the 31–0 win, Australia broke the record for largest win with a 22–0 win over Tonga
Tonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
. Both wins surpassed the previous record held by Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
who beat Bhutan
Bhutan national football team
The Bhutan national football team is the national team of Bhutan and is controlled by the Bhutan Football Federation.- History :While a Bhutanese National football team has existed since the 1970s, it was officially founded in 1983 and joined FIFA in 2000....
20–0 on 14 February 2000.
With 13 and 8 goals respectively, both Thompson and Zdrilic broke the previous record jointly held by another Australian, Gary Cole
Gary Cole (footballer)
Gary Cole is an Australian football player, who played for the Australia national football team 40 times and scored 20 goals between 1975 and 1984...
, who scored seven goals against Fiji
Fiji national football team
The Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...
in 1981, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri is a retired professional Iranian player, most notably playing for Persepolis in the Iran Pro League. He was known as a two-footed midfielder and is famous for his powerful and thundering long range shots and free kicks.-Early years:...
, who also scored seven goals against Maldives
Maldives national football team
The Maldives national football team is the national team of the Maldives and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. A member of the AFC, it qualified for the second stage of Asian qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where it drew with South Korea at home 0–0.Maldives most significant...
in 1997. Some sources mentioned that the previous record was 10 goals, which was achieved by Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
's Sophus Nielsen
Sophus Nielsen
Sophus Erhard "Krølben" Nielsen was a Danish amateur football player and manager, and the first player in history to score ten goals in a full national team match. Nielsen scored a total 16 goals in 20 games for the Denmark national football team, and won silver medals at the 1908 and 1912...
at the 1908 Olympics
Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Bohemia were forced to withdraw before the tournament started after losing their FIFA membership.-Semi-finals:-Bronze medal match:The French were so shocked by their humiliating 17-1 defeat against Denmark that they declined to play for the bronze medal; therefore, the Netherlands played Sweden for...
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
's Gottfried Fuchs
Gottfried Fuchs
Gottfried Fuchs was a German footballer. A German Jew, he fled Germany because of The Holocaust and emigrated to Canada...
at the 1912 Olympics
Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics was one of the 102 events at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the fourth time football was on the Olympic schedule. The tournament was contested between 11 nations, all of them from Europe, with Great Britain winning the gold medals...
. These matches, although fully recognised by FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
as official matches, were played by amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
players.
Most goals in a match
- Record in bold is the current world record.
# Goals Player Score Opponent Competition Date 1 13 Archie Thompson Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...31–0 
American SamoaAmerican Samoa national soccer teamThe American Samoa national association football team represents American Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body for football in American Samoa. American Samoa's home ground is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pago Pago and their...2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....11 April 2001 2 8 David Zdrilic David ZdrilicDavid Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...31–0 American SamoaAmerican Samoa national soccer teamThe American Samoa national association football team represents American Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body for football in American Samoa. American Samoa's home ground is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pago Pago and their...2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....11 April 2001 3 7 Gary Cole Gary Cole (footballer)Gary Cole is an Australian football player, who played for the Australia national football team 40 times and scored 20 goals between 1975 and 1984...10–0 
FijiFiji national football teamThe Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...1982 FIFA World Cup qualification 1982 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 109 teams entered the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament, an increase from 16 in the previous World Cups...14 August 1981 4 6 John Aloisi John AloisiJohn Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....22–0 
TongaTonga national football teamThe Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....9 April 2001 6 Frank Parsons 8–1 New ZealandFriendly Exhibition gameAn exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...11 September 1948 5 5 John Aloisi John AloisiJohn Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....13–0 
Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands national football teamThe Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification-Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...11 June 1997 5 Damian Mori Damian MoriDamian Mori is an Australian football player who is the top scorer for the Socceroos...13–0 Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands national football teamThe Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification-Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...11 June 1997 5 George Smith 10–0 New ZealandFriendly Exhibition gameAn exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...11 July 1936
Largest wins
- Record in bold is the current world record.
# Score Opponent Competition Date 1 31–0 American Samoa2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....11 April 2001 2 22–0 TongaTonga national football teamThe Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 FIFA World Cup qualificationA total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....9 April 2001 3. 17–0 
Cook IslandsCook Islands national football teamThe Cook Islands national football team is the national team of the Cook Islands and is controlled by the Cook Islands Football Association. With a population of around 24,000 people it remains one of the smallest FIFA teams.-World Cup record:...2000 OFC Nations Cup 2000 OFC Nations CupSolomon Islands and Vanuatu* qualified for Oceania Nations Cup 2000* Fiji were replaced by Vanuatu .-Polynesia Cup 2000:--------------------------------------------...19 June 2000 4 16–0 Cook IslandsCook Islands national football teamThe Cook Islands national football team is the national team of the Cook Islands and is controlled by the Cook Islands Football Association. With a population of around 24,000 people it remains one of the smallest FIFA teams.-World Cup record:...1998 OFC Nations Cup 1998 OFC Nations Cup-Results:-Match schedule:---------Knockout rounds:-Semifinals:-----Third place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=431&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010....28 September 1998 5 13–0 Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands national football teamThe Solomon Islands national football team is the national team of the Solomon Islands and is controlled by Solomon Islands Football Federation. The team shocked the football world in the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup , tying Australia 2–2 to nip heavily-favored New Zealand for second place and a spot...1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification-Qualified teams:The following 32 teams qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: - qualified automatically as hosts - qualified automatically as defending champions-Notes:...11 June 1997
All-time team record
The following table shows Australia's all-time international record, correct as of 6 August 2011.Coaching staff
| Position | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Germany Holger Osieck Holger Osieck Holger Osieck is a German football coach and current coach of the Australian national association football team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J.League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League. He served as an assistant coach of West Germany... |
|
| Assistant Manager | Australia Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar is an Australian football player and former captain of the Australian national team. He is currently not tied to any A-league club... |
|
| Assistant Manager | Australia Robbie Hooker Robbie Hooker Robert Hooker is a former Australian football player and current manager. He is currently the assistant manager of the Australia national association football team.-Playing career:... |
|
| Goalkeeping Coach | Australia Tony Franken Tony Franken Anthony Franken is a former Australian soccer goalkeeper from Perth, Western Australia. He is widely considered one of Australia's best ever.... |
Schedule
For a detailed list of 2011 schedule fixtures and results refer to 2011 Australia national football team season2011 Australia national football team season
The Australian national football team fixtures and results in 2011.-Record:-Goal scorers:Updated 12/10/11-Friendlies:-2011 AFC Asian Cup :-2014 World Cup Qualifiers :-References:* *...
Current squad
The following 23 players were named by Holger OsieckHolger Osieck
Holger Osieck is a German football coach and current coach of the Australian national association football team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J.League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League. He served as an assistant coach of West Germany...
on 2 November 2011 for the World Cup Qualifiers
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
This page provides the summaries of the AFC Third Round matches for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.-Format:In this round the fifteen winners from the second round joined the five AFC sides seeded 1–5 in the AFC World Cup rankings...
against Oman
Oman national football team
The Oman national football team is the national team of Oman. Although the team was officially founded in 1978, the squad was formed long before, and has established a proper football association in only December, 2005...
and Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
.
- Caps and goals as of 16 November 2011 including the game against Thailand.
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Recent callups
The following players have also been called up to the Australia squad within the last twelve months.- Caps and goals as of 26 January 2011.
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Previous squads
- 2011 AFC Asian Cup squads – Australia
- 2010 FIFA World Cup squads – Australia
- 2007 AFC Asian Cup squads – Australia
- 2006 FIFA World Cup squads – Australia
- 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squads – Australia
- 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads – Australia
- 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup squads – Australia
- 1974 FIFA World Cup squads – Australia
Players with most appearances
- Players in bold are still available for selection.
# Name Caps Goals First cap Latest cap 1 Mark Schwarzer Mark SchwarzerMark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...94 0 31 July 1993 15 November 2011 2 Brett Emerton Brett EmertonBrett Michael Emerton is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney FC and the Australia national team...91 18 7 February 1998 15 November 2011 3 Alex Tobin Alex TobinAlexander Hugh Tobin is a former Australian football player. Tobin is the second most capped player for the Australia national football team with 87 'A' appearances, including many as captain...87 2 9 March 1988 6 November 1998 4 Paul Wade Paul WadePaul Wade is a retired Australian football player, who is best known for his long-term role as captain of the Socceroos, Australia's national football team.-Club career:...84 10 3 August 1986 1 November 1996 5 Lucas Neil 79 0 9 October 1996 15 November 2011 6 Tony Vidmar Tony VidmarAnthony "Tony" Vidmar is an Australian former professional football player of Slovenian origin. He was a member of the Australian national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for his native country, and is currently Australia's third highest capped player...76 3 6 February 1991 7 October 2006 7 Scott Chipperfield Scott ChipperfieldScott Kenneth Chipperfield is an Australian international football player who currently plays as a midfielder for FC Basel in the Swiss Super League.-Personal life:...68 12 25 September 1998 23 June 2010 8 Luke Wilkshire Luke WilkshireLuke Wilkshire is an Australian football player who plays for Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League...65 5 3 September 2005 15 November 2011 9 Peter Wilson Peter Wilson (Australian footballer)Peter Frederick Wilson is a former Australian football player. He was the captain of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany...64 3 4 November 1970 13 June 1979 10 Attila Abonyi Attila AbonyiAttila Abonyi is a Hungarian-born Australian football manager and former player.Born in Hungary, he took up soccer after emigrating to Australia at age 10. Attila played started playing professional club football for Melbourne Hungaria between 1962 and 1968, St...61 25 4 June 1967 25 November 1977
Players with most goals
- Players in bold are still available for selection.
# Name Goals Caps Avg. First cap Latest cap 1 Damian Mori Damian MoriDamian Mori is an Australian football player who is the top scorer for the Socceroos...29 45 0.64 4 September 1992 14 July 2002 2 John Aloisi John AloisiJohn Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....27 55 0.49 12 March 1997 6 February 2008 3 John Kosmina John KosminaAlexander John Kosmina , known as John Kosmina, is a former Australian football player and manager of Polish Australian ethnicity. He was most recently the manager of Sydney FC...25 60 0.42 18 August 1976 22 September 1988 Attila Abonyi Attila AbonyiAttila Abonyi is a Hungarian-born Australian football manager and former player.Born in Hungary, he took up soccer after emigrating to Australia at age 10. Attila played started playing professional club football for Melbourne Hungaria between 1962 and 1968, St...25 61 0.41 4 June 1967 25 November 1977 5 Tim Cahill Tim CahillTimothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...24 55 0.43 28 February 2001 6 September 2011 6 Archie Thompson Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...21 33 0.64 30 March 2004 7 September 2010 7 David Zdrilic David ZdrilicDavid Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...20 30 0.67 18 January 1997 29 March 2005 8 Graham Arnold Graham ArnoldGraham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after...19 56 0.34 23 October 1985 29 November 1997 9 Ray Baartz Ray BaartzRay Baartz was an Australian football player. He is a member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.Ray was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and spent his early years playing for Adamstown. At 17 he joined Manchester United and after 6 months signed on a two year contract...18 48 0.38 28 May 1967 27 April 1974 Brett Emerton Brett EmertonBrett Michael Emerton is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney FC and the Australia national team...18 82 0.22 7 February 1998 6 September 2011 10 Gary Cole Gary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...17 19 0.89 11 June 1978 14 October 1982 Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio VidmarAurelio Vidmar is an Australian football player and former captain of the Australian national team. He is currently not tied to any A-league club...17 44 0.39 30 January 1991 3 June 2001
Captains
- Players in bold are still available for selection.
# Name Captaincies Caps Goals First captaincy Latest captaincy 1 Peter Wilson Peter Wilson (Australian footballer)Peter Frederick Wilson is a former Australian football player. He was the captain of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany...60 64 3 11 November 1971 13 June 1979 2 Paul Wade Paul WadePaul Wade is a retired Australian football player, who is best known for his long-term role as captain of the Socceroos, Australia's national football team.-Club career:...46 84 10 25 August 1990 1 November 1996 3 Lucas Neill Lucas NeillLucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
(current)41 78 0 7 October 2006 11 November 2011 4 Alex Tobin Alex TobinAlexander Hugh Tobin is a former Australian football player. Tobin is the second most capped player for the Australia national football team with 87 'A' appearances, including many as captain...30 87 2 11 February 1995 6 November 1998 Charlie Yankos Charlie YankosCharles Yankos is a former Greek-Australian football player who played for the Australian football team 49 times and scored 7 full international goals...30 49 7 25 October 1986 16 April 1989 6 John Kosmina John KosminaAlexander John Kosmina , known as John Kosmina, is a former Australian football player and manager of Polish Australian ethnicity. He was most recently the manager of Sydney FC...25 60 25 6 October 1982 9 March 1988 7 Johnny Warren Johnny WarrenJohn Norman Warren, MBE, OAM was an Australian football player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster. He was known as Captain Socceroo for his passionate work to promote the game in Australia...24 42 6 5 November 1967 1 December 1970 Paul Okon Paul OkonPaul Okon is a former Australian football player who retired after playing with Australian side Newcastle United Jets....24 28 0 9 October 1996 7 September 2003 9 Mark Viduka Mark VidukaMark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...17 43 11 3 August 2005 21 July 2007 10 Craig Moore Craig MooreCraig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers...13 51 3 18 February 2004 6 January 2010
Player drain to other countries
One obstacle for potential Australian soccer players is that some promising players choose other nations. As many Australians have roots in other countries throughout the world, they are eligible to play for non-Australian national teams.The following is a list of Australian-born players who chose other national teams:
| Name | Nation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Joey Didulica | ||
| Tony Dorigo Tony Dorigo Anthony Robert Dorigo is a retired English football player who played for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leeds United and the England national side as a left-back.-Career:... |
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| Buddy Farah Buddy Farah Buddy Farah is an Australian soccer agent and a former footballer of Lebanese descent. After beginning his career with Marconi Stallions in the Australian National Soccer League, he went on to play for Nejmeh in the Lebanese Premier League and Keflavík in the Iceland Úrvalsdeild before retiring in... |
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| John Hutchinson John Hutchinson (footballer) John Hutchinson is a Maltese-Australian football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners... |
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| Saša Ilić Saša Ilic (footballer born 1972) Saša Ilić is a retired Serbian-Australian football goalkeeper.-Club career:Born in Melbourne however Sasa's first club was Bonnyrigg White Eagles from Sydney in his youth stages and then transferred to Borac Banja Luka in Bosnia.Ilić is best known for his spell with Charlton Athletic... |
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| Emmanuel Muscat Emmanuel Muscat Emmanuel "Manny" Muscat is an Australian born Maltese football player who usually plays as a Defensive Midfielder or Right Back for in the A-League.-Early career:... |
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| Avraam Papadopoulos Avraam Papadopoulos Avraam Papadopoulos is a Greek footballer, currently playing for Olympiacos F.C. and the Greek national football team as a central defender.-Aris Thessaloniki:... |
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| Peter Pullicino Peter Pullicino Peter William Pullicino is a professional footballer currently playing for Maltese Premier League side Marsaxlokk, where he plays as a midfielder, he is also the clubs assistant coach.-Hibernians:... |
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| Michael Reda Michael Reda Michael Carl Reda is a former Australian born-Lebanese footballer.-International career:He has played for Lebanon internationally, most notably making appearance for Lebanon at the 2000 Asian Nations Cup. He played for the School Sport Australia Football team in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei in... |
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| Graeme Rutjes Graeme Rutjes Graeme Wayne Rutjes is a former Australian-born Dutch footballer, who played for Excelsior Rotterdam , Y.R. K.V. Mechelen and R.S.C... |
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| Anthony Šerić Anthony Šeric Anthony Šerić , is a Croatian Australian footballer who currently plays as a defender for Karabükspor.-Club career:Šerić was born to a Croatian family in Sydney, Australia and received a football scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport... |
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| Josip Šimunić Josip Šimunic Josip Šimunić is a Croatian footballer who plays as a defender for Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team.-Club career:... |
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| Joseph Tabone | ||
| Peter Tasevski | ||
| Diego Barcena | ||
| Pablo Martinez Pablo Martínez Pablo Martínez is an Argentine actor and occasional singer. His breakthrough came with the role of Simón Rodríguez Arrechavaleta in the Cris Morena Group series Casi Ángeles, for which he also recorded several songs for its official soundtrack albums.- Personal life :Martínez dated his Casi... |
The following players were/or are currently playing for other youth national teams, yet were either born or lived a considerable amount of their youth in Australia but are still eligible to play for/or have represented Australia at any level:
- Ersan GülümErsan GülümErsan Adem Gülüm is a professional football player currently playing as a defender for Beşiktaş in the Turkcell Süper Lig and the Turkish national football team.-Career:...
– TurkeyTurkey national football teamThe Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA... - Dean BouzanisDean BouzanisDean Anthony Bouzanis is an Australian football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for League One side Oldham Athletic on non-contract terms.-Club career:...
– Greece U-19Greece national under-19 football team-Group 3:- Current squad :Represented Greece in the UEFA under 19 championship July 20- August 1 2011- See also :* Greece Under-19 2007 national team* Greece Under-19 2007 national team- External links :*... - Tim CahillTim CahillTimothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
– Samoa U-17 - Alex CisakAlex CisakAleksander Cisak is a Polish-Australian footballer currently playing as a goalkeeper for Oldham Athletic.-Leicester:...
– Poland U-19Poland national under-19 football teamThe Poland national under-19 football team represents Poland in international football at this age level and is controlled by Polish Football Association.... - Daniel GeorgievskiDaniel GeorgievskiDaniel Georgievski is a Macedonian Australian football player. He appeared for the Macedonia U21 football team and plays for Croatian side HNK Šibenik in the Prva HNL. He can play both as an attacking right or left sided wingback....
– Macedonia U-19Macedonia national under-19 football teamThe Macedonian national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Macedonia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia...
and U-21 - Apostolos GiannouApostolos GiannouApostolos Giannou is a football player who currently plays for PAOK in the Superleague Greece.-Career:After migrating to Melbourne, Australia with his family, Giannou played junior football for the Oakleigh Cannons and South Melbourne...
– Greece U-19Greece national under-19 football team-Group 3:- Current squad :Represented Greece in the UEFA under 19 championship July 20- August 1 2011- See also :* Greece Under-19 2007 national team* Greece Under-19 2007 national team- External links :*...
and U-21 - Andreas GovasAndreas GovasAndreas Govas in Australia is a Greek footballer who currently plays for Greek Super League side AO Kavala.-Club career:In 2007 Govas was a part of Portsmouth's U-18 Youth Academy team....
– Greece U-19Greece national under-19 football team-Group 3:- Current squad :Represented Greece in the UEFA under 19 championship July 20- August 1 2011- See also :* Greece Under-19 2007 national team* Greece Under-19 2007 national team- External links :*... - Bradden Inman
– Scotland U-19Scotland national under-19 football teamThe Scotland national under-19 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national football team for players of 19 years of age or under at the start of a European Under-19 Football Championship campaign.... - Shane LowryShane Lowry (footballer)Shane Thomas Lowry is an Irish-Australian professional football player who currently plays as a centre defender or left fullback for the Australia national football team and Millwall, on loan from Aston Villa...
– Republic of Ireland U-17 and U-21 - Jamie McMasterJamie McMasterJamie McMaster is an English football player who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in the NSW Premier League....
– England U-21England national under-21 football teamEngland's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.... - Kyle NixKyle NixKyle Ashley Nix is a professional footballer who plays in the Conference National with Gateshead. He was born in Sydney, Australia to English parents and moved to England at an early age....
– England U-19England national under-19 football team-Other matches:-Latest squad:The following players were named in the squad for the friendly match against Denmark.- Recent call-ups :The following players have also been called up to the England under-19 squad and remain eligible.-Past squads:... - Richard PortaRichard PortaRichard Aníbal Porta Candelaresi is an Australian born Uruguayan footballer who currently plays for Al Wasl FC on a single year contract.-River Plate:...
– Uruguay U-20Uruguay national under-20 football teamUruguay national under-20 football team represents Uruguay in international football competitions such as FIFA U-20 World Cup and the South American Youth Championship.-FIFA U-20 World Cup:Iturbe | goals2 = Polenta... - Aleks VrteskiAleks VrteskiAleksandar Vrteski is a football goalkeeper who plays for Solo FC in Liga Primer Indonesia.-Club career:...
– Macedonia U-21 - Rhys WilliamsRhys Williams (footballer)Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...
– Wales U-21Wales national under-21 football teamThe Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
The following players, not born in Australia but eligible to play for Australia, chose other national teams:
| Name | Nation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aleksandar Đurić | Born in then-Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century.... , relocated to Australia, then moved to Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... . In 2008 he played against the Socceroos in an international friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... . |
|
| Ivan Ergić Ivan Ergic Ivan Ergić is an international footballer from Serbia. He is a free agent, last playing for Bursaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, he played as midfielder. He holds Serbian and Australian citizenship.-Club:... |
Born in then-Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century.... , raised in Australia. |
|
| Georgios Samaras Georgios Samaras Georgios Samaras is a Greek footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Celtic and the Greek national football team. He is predominantly a left winger but can also play as a striker.... |
His father was born in Australia. | |
| Shane Smeltz Shane Smeltz Shane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:... |
Born in Germany, to New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... parents, raised in Australia. |
|
| Craig Johnston Craig Johnston Craig Johnston is a former football player who was one of the first Australians to make a major impact in the English game. He is remembered for his time spent with Liverpool throughout the 1980s... |
Johnston was born in South Africa to Australian parents and raised in Australia. He played for England England national under-21 football team England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.... at the Under-21 level, but did not earn a senior cap. |
|
| Christian Vieri Christian Vieri Christian Vieri is a retired Italian footballer who played as a centre forward.Vieri was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations... |
Born in Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... , raised in Australia. Brother Max Vieri Max Vieri Massimiliano "Max" Vieri is an Italian Australian football player. He is a striker, and currently plays for AC Prato of Italian Lega Pro Prima Divisione.... went on to represent Australia at senior level. |
Managers
| Name | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Pts. per game^ | Win % | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tiko Jelisavcic |
1965 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1.50 | 50% | |
 Jozef VenglošJozef Vengloš Dr. Jozef Vengloš is a former Czechoslovak football player and coach. He has a Doctorate in Physical Education, as well as specialising in Psychology... |
1965–1967 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1.86 | 57% | |
| Joe Vlatsis |
1967–1969 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 2.00 | 57% | |
| Ralé Rasic Ralé Rasic Zvonimir "Ralé" Rašić OAM Zvonimir "Ralé" Rašić OAM Zvonimir "Ralé" Rašić OAM (born 26 December 1935 in Mostar, Littoral Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a Serbian-Australian former football player, coach and media personality.... |
1970–1974 | 31 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1.84 | 52% | 1st round at the 1974 FIFA World Cup 1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded... |
| Brian Green Brian Green (footballer) Brian Geoffrey Green is a former football coach and player. As a player he competed in the Football League as a forward in the 1950s and 1960s for Rochdale, Southport, Barrow, Exeter City and Chesterfield.... |
1976 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 100% | |
| Jim Shoulder Jim Shoulder Jim Shoulder is an English former football manager and player. Most notably, he was manager of the Australian national football team from 1976 to 1978.As a player, Shoulder spent time at Sunderland, Scarborough and Hartelepool United... |
1976–1978 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 1.48 | 40% | |
| Rudi Gutendorf Rudi Gutendorf Rudolf "Rudi" Gutendorf is a German football manager, renowned for managing the highest number of national teams – to date a total of 18 teams.- Career :... |
1979–1981 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 0.94 | 17% | Winner of the 1980 OFC Nations Cup 1980 OFC Nations Cup -Group B:-Third Place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=433&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010.... |
| Les Scheinflug Les Scheinflug Ladislav 'Les' Scheinflug is a former football player and coach.Arriving in Australia in the early 1950s he lived as a youth at Villawood Migrant Hostel and played for the hostel soccer team He was picked to play in the Southern Districts representative soccer team during these yearsScheinflug... |
1981–1983 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2.08 | 67% | |
| Frank Arok Frank Arok Ferenc 'Frank' Arok is a retired Serbian football player and coach of Hungarian descent.... |
1983–1989 | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 1.67 | 46% | |
| Les Scheinflug Les Scheinflug Ladislav 'Les' Scheinflug is a former football player and coach.Arriving in Australia in the early 1950s he lived as a youth at Villawood Migrant Hostel and played for the hostel soccer team He was picked to play in the Southern Districts representative soccer team during these yearsScheinflug... (caretaker during Frank Arok absence) |
1983 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.25 | 75% | |
| Les Scheinflug Les Scheinflug Ladislav 'Les' Scheinflug is a former football player and coach.Arriving in Australia in the early 1950s he lived as a youth at Villawood Migrant Hostel and played for the hostel soccer team He was picked to play in the Southern Districts representative soccer team during these yearsScheinflug... (caretaker) |
1990 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 100% | |
| Eddie Thomson Eddie Thomson Eddie Thomson was a Scottish football player and coach.-Career:Born in Rosewell, Scotland, he played 162 games for Heart of Midlothian F.C. from 1966 to 1973, before moving to Aberdeen F.C. and playing a further 91 games with them... |
1990–1996 | 56 | 26 | 11 | 19 | 1.59 | 46% | Winner of the 1996 OFC Nations Cup 1996 OFC Nations Cup The 1996 OFC Nations Cup was not held as a cohesive tournament, but consisted of semi-finals and a final played on a two-legged basis, stretched out between November 1995 and November 1996.... |
| Les Scheinflug Les Scheinflug Ladislav 'Les' Scheinflug is a former football player and coach.Arriving in Australia in the early 1950s he lived as a youth at Villawood Migrant Hostel and played for the hostel soccer team He was picked to play in the Southern Districts representative soccer team during these yearsScheinflug... (caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence) |
1992 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 | 67% | |
| Vic Fernandez (caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence) |
1992 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 | 50% | |
| Les Scheinflug Les Scheinflug Ladislav 'Les' Scheinflug is a former football player and coach.Arriving in Australia in the early 1950s he lived as a youth at Villawood Migrant Hostel and played for the hostel soccer team He was picked to play in the Southern Districts representative soccer team during these yearsScheinflug... (caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence) |
1994 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 100% | |
| Raul Blanco Raul Blanco Raul Blanco is an Argentine-born Australia Association football coach. He is well known for coaching the Socceroos from March 1998 to June 1999. He was also coaching the Olyroos at the same time, and coached them during the 2000 Summer Olympics... (caretaker) |
1996 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 100% | |
| Terry Venables Terry Venables Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England... |
1997–1998 | 23 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 2.09 | 65% | Runner-up of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:7 goals Romário5 goals Vladimír Šmicer4 goals Ronaldo-References:... |
| Raul Blanco Raul Blanco Raul Blanco is an Argentine-born Australia Association football coach. He is well known for coaching the Socceroos from March 1998 to June 1999. He was also coaching the Olyroos at the same time, and coached them during the 2000 Summer Olympics... (caretaker) |
1998–1999 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.00 | 60% | Runner-up of the 1998 OFC Nations Cup 1998 OFC Nations Cup -Results:-Match schedule:---------Knockout rounds:-Semifinals:-----Third place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=431&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010.... |
| Frank Farina Frank Farina Frank Farina OAM is a retired Australian football player. He most currently coaches the Papua New Guinea national football team.... |
1999–2005 | 58 | 34 | 9 | 15 | 1.91 | 59% | Winner of the 2000 OFC Nations Cup 2000 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands and Vanuatu* qualified for Oceania Nations Cup 2000* Fiji were replaced by Vanuatu .-Polynesia Cup 2000:--------------------------------------------... 3rd place at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place play-off:-Final:-Awards:-Top scorers:2 goals Shaun Murphy Éric Carrière Robert Pirès Patrick Vieira Sylvain Wiltord Takayuki Suzuki Hwang Sun-Hong... Runner-up of the 2002 OFC Nations Cup 2002 OFC Nations Cup -Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Knockout Rounds:-Semi-Finals:----... Winner of the 2004 OFC Nations Cup 2004 OFC Nations Cup The 2004 OFC Nations Cup doubled as the qualification tournament to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, except the two-legged final .... 1st round of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup -Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Awards:-Goal scorers:5 goals Adriano4 goals Luciano Figueroa John Aloisi Michael Ballack... |
 Guus HiddinkGuus Hiddink Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009... |
2005–2006 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1.92 | 58% | 2nd round at the 2006 FIFA World Cup 2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six... |
| Graham Arnold Graham Arnold Graham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after... (caretaker) |
2006–2007 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1.47 | 40% | Quarter finalists at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup 2007 AFC Asian Cup The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi... |
| Rob Baan Rob Baan Robert Baan is a Dutch football coach, appointed to the role of Technical Director for the Indian national team by the AIFF. He is currently appointed as the Technical Director of All India Football Federation... (caretaker) |
2007 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 100% | |
| Pim Verbeek |
2007–2010 | 33 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 1.91 | 55% | 1st round at the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010... Qualified for 2011 AFC Asian Cup 2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup... |
| Han Berger Han Berger Han Berger is a Dutch football coach and former football player.-Biography:Han Berger is the youngest head coach ever in the history of professional football in The Netherlands. After suffering a severe knee injury, his playing career ended at the age of 22 and he was appointed youth and assistant... (caretaker) |
2010 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 0% | |
| Holger Osieck Holger Osieck Holger Osieck is a German football coach and current coach of the Australian national association football team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J.League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League. He served as an assistant coach of West Germany... |
2010–present | 20 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2.22 | 70% | Runner-up of 2011 AFC Asian Cup 2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup... |
^Points per game statistic based on a standard 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
Honours
FIFA Confederations CupFIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup is an association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four years by FIFA. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships , along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, to bring the number of teams...
- Runners-up: 19971997 FIFA Confederations Cup FinalThe 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final was a football match to determine the winners of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. The match was held at King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 21 December 1997 and was contested by Brazil and Australia. Brazil won the match 6–0.- Route to the final...
- Third Place: 2001
AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation . It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA...
- Runners-up: 20112011 AFC Asian CupThe 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup...
OFC Nations Cup
OFC Nations Cup
The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the Oceania Football Confederation member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the name Oceania Nations Cup...
- Champions: 19801980 OFC Nations Cup-Group B:-Third Place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=433&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010....
, 19961996 OFC Nations CupThe 1996 OFC Nations Cup was not held as a cohesive tournament, but consisted of semi-finals and a final played on a two-legged basis, stretched out between November 1995 and November 1996....
, 20002000 OFC Nations CupSolomon Islands and Vanuatu* qualified for Oceania Nations Cup 2000* Fiji were replaced by Vanuatu .-Polynesia Cup 2000:--------------------------------------------...
, 20042004 OFC Nations CupThe 2004 OFC Nations Cup doubled as the qualification tournament to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, except the two-legged final .... - Runners-up: 19981998 OFC Nations Cup-Results:-Match schedule:---------Knockout rounds:-Semifinals:-----Third place:-Final:-External links:* http://www.oceaniafootball.com/index.cgi?sID=43&intArticleID=431&det=1* . Accessed 21 February 2010....
, 20022002 OFC Nations Cup-Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Results:-Match Schedule:-------------------- and progress to the knockout tournament.-Knockout Rounds:-Semi-Finals:----...
Other titles
- Trans-Tasman CupTrans-Tasman CupThe Trans-Tasman Cup was a football competition played between the national teams of Australia and New Zealand. Six editions were played between 1983 and 1995 and a seventh was played in 2001 as a school match...
- 1986, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2001
- AFC Men's Team of the YearAsian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
- 2006
- Unofficial Football World Championship:
- 1992
- Virtual World Championship:
- 2001
- Nasazzi's Baton:
- 2001
Sponsors
Sponsorship has generally been hard to find for the Socceroos as until 2005 football (soccer) in Australia was not seen as an attractive investment for companies. After Australia qualified for the 2006 World CupFIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
potential sponsors saw the Socceroos profile rise and jumped on board the so called 'bandwagon
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
'.
Currently the Socceroos are sponsored by Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, the Major Sponsor, and Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, the Kit Supplier. Other sponsors include Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, Hyundai
Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...
, NAB
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
, Powerade
Powerade
Powerade is a sports drink manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. First introduced in 1988, its primary competitor is PepsiCo's Gatorade...
, Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
& Westfield.
Media coverage
Games are broadcast by SBSSpecial Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
and Fox Sports Australia. The 2006 World Cup Qualification game against Uruguay was the highest rating program in SBS history and a 2010 World Cup Qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify...
game against Japan set a record for the highest subscription television audience according to ASTRA
Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association
The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association is the peak industry body for pay television in Australia.Formed in 1995, it was initially called the Confederation of Australian Subscription Television...
ratings.
In the United States, qualifiers are broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
.
Origin of "Socceroos"
The team's nicknameNickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
was coined by Sydney journalist, Tony Horstead, in 1967 in his coverage of a "goodwill" tour by the national team to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
.
See also
- Australian national sports team nicknamesAustralian national sports team nicknamesIn Australia, the national representative team of many sports has a nickname, used informally when referring to the team in the media or in conversation. These nicknames are typically derived from well-known symbols of Australia. Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor,...
- List of Australia national football team results
- Australia national association football team all time recordAustralia national association football team all time recordThe list shown below shows the national football team of Australia's all-time international record against opposing nations. The stats are composed of FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, OFC Nations Cup, AFC Asian Cup and Summer Olympics matches, as well as numerous international friendly...
- Australia and New Zealand football rivalryAustralia and New Zealand football rivalryThese are the football matches between Trans-Tasman rivals the Australian Socceroos and New Zealand All Whites-Matches:-Overall summary:-Top scorers:-See also:*Australia national association football team*New Zealand national football team...
External links
- Official FFA website
- Archive of results 1922–
- The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
- RSSSF archive of coaches 1922–1998
- Aussies Abroad
- The Southern Cross
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
(OFC) and was not defending its Oceanian title in 2008.