NICKNAME: THE SOCCEROOS
Football Australia
Trending
AFFILIATION: Asian Football Confederation ( AFC)
FIFA RANKING: 20 (LATEST)
COACH: PIM VERBEEK
Australia football team have represented their country at the world cup on two previous occasions – the 1974 world cup in Germany and the 2006 world cup , also held in Germany . However, on both these occasions , they had qualified from the Oceania confederation. They got affiliation to the Asia zone after the 2006 world cup. Australia had been one of the first teams to have qualified for the 2010 world cup having a stupendous record in qualifying rounds with an unbeaten record and conceding only 1 goal. Their qualifying campaign is listed below :- Due to their affiliation to the Oceania confederation , the Australian team had to face tricky and tough playoffs with teams from asia , north and south America in order to qualify. Uruguay and Australia have faced each other in a number of playoffs with Uruguay triumphing mostly .
The Australians did not consider soccer to be a top priority game until Guus Hiddink stepped in as coach of the Australian national team in 2005 . He introduced top training regimes, schedules which led to the Australian team qualifying for the 2006 world cup at the expense of Uruguay. Fan following started after they qualified. The 2006 world cup was a successful one for the socceroos as they managed to qualify for the knockout stage where they were ousted by a controversial penalty from Fransesco Totti in the dying stages of the match. However, Australia had exceeded expectations in the world cup .
TEAM: The entire Australian team playing at the world cup plays abroad in foreign leagues except for Jason Culina who plays for gold Coast United FC. Over the years Australia have produced world class and top notch internationals, the two most famous are Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer. The entire squad is as follows:
Pim Verbeek Manager
Goalkeepers:
Their number 1 choice is Mark Schwarzer. He is an experienced goalkeeper having regularly plied his trade in English Domestic Circuit. He has developed tremendously under Hodgeson and he would have to be on his toes to ensure the team’s success. Federici is a good deputy and can play well whenever called upon.
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham),
Adam Federici (Reading)
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough)
Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
Defenders
Australia have always been mean in defence. In the last 4 years at all international and qualifying campaigns defence have been their mainstay. The men to watch out for are: Michael Beauchamp and Lucas Neill. The West Ham defender is well known for his defensive exploits and by conceding just one goal in the qualifying campaign they have shown the world how mean their defense is.
Scott Chipperfield (Basel)
David Carney (Twente)
Lucas Neill (Galatasaray)
Michael Beauchamp (Melbourne Heart)
Shane Lowry (Aston Villa)
Craig Moore (unattached)
Mark Milligan (JEF United)
Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough)
Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow)
Midfield
The midfield is the key to their success with several star studded players in their line-up. With the forward pair looking inexperienced in major competitions and the absence of Mark Viduka from the World Cup squad puts added pressure on the midfielders. Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton are the main players to watch out for. Tim Cahill has already been touted by many pundits to perform well at the world cup after having a stunning second half in the league for Everton. With Harry Kewell moving to Galatasaray to have regular first team action, it is clear that the players know that their midfield line up is strong enough to be competing among the best in the world.
Vince Grella (Blackburn)
Carl Valeri (Sassuolo)
Tim Cahill will be a key player for Australia
Jason Culina (Gold Coast)
Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor)
Tim Cahill (Everton)
Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar)
Dario Vidosic (Nuremberg)
Mark Bresciano (Palermo)
Brett Emerton (Blackburn)
Richard Garcia (Hull)
James Holland (AZ Alkmaar)
Tommy Oar (Utrecht).
Strikers
The strike department looks inexperienced and can cause problems to Australia. It is an area where the opponents would look to exploit. Not much to say about the forwards.
Nikita Rukavytsya (Twente)
Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus)
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray).
WORLD CUP SCENARIO: Australia lies in a very tricky group comprising of Germany, Serbia and Ghana. With Germany and Ghana being among the powerhouses in football in recent times, Australia will have their task cut out. It is difficult to predict with each country looking good enough to progress. Germany are the team made for big tournaments and hence the other place is likely to be fought between the other three sides. Serbia and Ghana look much more stronger to qualify. (Serbia had a blinder of a qualifying campaign finishing top of the group)
Prediction: Sadly, Not beyond the group stages .
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