OFFICIAL MEDIA GUIDE OF AUSTRALIA AT THE 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL 0

A new era
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL TEAM HISTORY
Out of the blue, a comprehensive 3-1 away win over
'mother England' in early 2003 marked an on-field
turning point for the Australian national team.
Success in the 2004 OFC Oceania Nations Cup ensured
qualification for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and
a final Oceania FIFA World Cup play-off against the
Solomon Islands. Promising performances by the
Socceroos at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup against
the likes of Germany and Argentina gave hope, with a
looming FIFA World Cup qualifying showdown against
the fifth-placed South American side.
After easily accounting for the Solomons in the final
Oceania play-off, Australia was confronted by its
nemesis from 2001, Uruguay, in its final 2006 FIFA World
Cup qualifying play-off match. Under coach Guus
Hiddink, a gritty first-leg away performance by the
Socceroos ended with just a one-goal margin to the
Uruguayans. The final 15 minutes of the Montevideo leg
seemed to sway the tie in Australia's favour, with the
resolute Australian defence repelling wave after wave of
unrelenting Uruguayan attack. At one-nil down after the
first leg, Australia's attacking prowess came to the fore
in Sydney, although the scoreboard would ultimately
record just one goal – a somewhat flukey one by Marco
Bresciano – for the Aussies, with no reply eventually
sending the tie to penalties. The final hero was Mark
Schwarzer, with two telling saves ensuring an
unforgettable victory and qualification for Germany
2006. The images of John Aloisi slamming home the final
shoot-out goal – and the celebrations – will live in the
hearts of Australian football fans for a long time.
Germany 2006
After 95,000 fans packed into the MCG to farewell the
Socceroos in a 1-0 win over European Champions
Greece, the 2006 FIFA World Cup odyssey began.
Australia was given no favours in the finals tournament
draw, with formidable group opponents Japan, Brazil
and Croatia in the way of a second round berth.
At 1-0 down with just eight minutes to go against Japan
in its first 2006 World Cup match, Australia’s progress
already looked unlikely. But when Tim Cahill drilled in a
loose ball to score Australia’s first ever World Cup
finals goal, followed shortly after by his second, the
agony transformed into ecstasy – which turned into
complete exhilaration when John Aloisi netted the
sealing goal in the dying seconds to make it 3-1.
Brazil proved to be a much tougher opponent than
Japan, however the Australians matched it with the
pre-tournament favourites and the half-time scoreline
of 0-0 was much deserved after Australia’s best half of
the tournament. A well-worked Brazil goal just after
the break proved to be the key moment of the match,
and despite continued pressure from the Australians, a
brief loss in concentration by the Socceroo defence in
the dying moments enabled the Brazilians to score
again.
With Brazil’s 2-0 win over the Aussies almost
guaranteeing the South Americans’ progression, the
last group stage match between Australia and Croatia
was to decide the remaining Group F top two spot. And
it was certainly another pulsating contest with
Australia having to come from behind – twice – to tie
the match 2-2 and emphatically qualify for the next
stage, Craig Moore and Harry Kewell the goalscoring
heroes. The result saw World Cup fever sweep through
Australia as the pulsating Croatia match showed the
drama only provided by the real football.
2006 FIFA WORLD CUP
Germany
JPN
W3-1
BRA
L0-2
CRO
D2-2
ITA
L0-1
John Aloisi ◦ ◦ ◦
Marco Bresciano • ◦ ◦ •
Tim Cahill • • •
Scott Chipperfield • • • •
Jason Culina • • • •
Brett Emerton • • •
Vince Grella • • • •
Zeljko Kalac
•
Josh Kennedy ◦ ◦
Harry Kewell • ◦
Craig Moore • • •
Lucas Neill • • • •
Tony Popovic
•
Mark Schwarzer • • •
Mile Sterjovski • • •
Mark Viduka (c) • • •
Luke Wilkshire • •
• started ◦ substitute # goals
The emotional roller-coaster ride of Germany 2006
continued as Australia matched it with the Italians right
up until just seconds before the end of their Round of
16 match, the match locked at nil-all. However a
controversial penalty was then awarded to Italy
following Grosso’s tumble in the box, resulting in a
successful conversion by Totti. The 1-0 loss sent the
Australians home in a state of shock.
While the last-gasp contentious penalty seemed to be
the cruellest way to end the World Cup dream, the
Australian players, coaching staff and fans could depart
Germany with their heads held high. After such a long
absence, the Australian national side had matched it
with the best of the world, in the world’s most revered
football tournament, and were ultimately knocked-out
by the slimmest of margins against the team which
would go on to take out the 2006 FIFA World Cup final.
OFFICIAL MEDIA GUIDE OF AUSTRALIA AT THE 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL 78