The ‘Socceroos’ will take part in their sixth World Cup when they travel to Qatar, Australia’s best ever result in the international tournament was back in 2006, when the team reached the last 16, but that has been the only time they’ve made it past the group stages. This time around, Australia was one of the National Teams that managed to clinch a last minute ticket via the Intercontinental Playoffs, after a fierce game against Peru (0-0, won on penalties). This hasn’t been the best the best version of the Aussies, and after struggling to qualify to the World Cup, its uncertain if they can manage to breakout when the tournament kicks-off.
Not The Favourite In A Very Difficult Group
Australia will be making its World Cup debut in Qatar on Tuesday, November 22nd. against non-other than the defending champions, France. The ‘Aussies’ will get the toughest match-day 1 game of the entire tournament, and after that, things will ease up a little bit when they get an opportunity to get some points on the board when they face Tunisia on match-day 2. If the ‘Socceroos’ can get a favourable result against the African team, everything will be in play on match-day 3 versus the other group candidate, Denmark.
Previous World Cup Experience May Come In Handy
Graham Arnold is a legendary coach in Australian Football, and has already assistant managed the National Team back in the 2006 World Cup under Gus Hiddink. Arnold was appointed as the Senior Squad manager on 2018 after Australia took part in the Russia World Cup. Graham Arnold also led the U23 squad in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, so he had a chance to get to know the young talent, and some of them already made the leap to the senior squad. Australia’s National manager has a lot of experience, and his previous taste of competing in a World Cup will certainly come in handy in this tough group as well.
New Faces Old Aquaintances
A generational change has started to make its shift nowadays for the Australian National Team, but there are still some familiar faces that bring experience to the squad, and their leadership will prove to be very valuable to make an outstanding entry at the World Cup.
Captain and seasoned goalkeeper Matt Ryan (FC Copenhagen) is the leader of the team and will have a lot of work to do if he want his team to survive the group stages. Another veteran, Aaron Mooy (Celtic Football Club) is one player to keep tabs on, since he can be a very valuable asset to hold the midfield for the ‘Socceroos’.
Things Are Not Looking Good
When Australia played the Intercontinental Playoffs many had them as the underdogs, but somehow they hanged on to get their ticket to the World Cup. Nevertheless, their tactical play and lack of ideas was on full display, so its going to be pretty hard to get this squad to compete against ferocious rivals such as France or Denmark, but if Australia can get a win against Tunisia, they’ll inevitably have an opportunity on match-day 3. This team needs to show a little bit more creativity upfront, and there’s little time to find it. We wouldn’t count on the ‘Socceroos’ to make the ‘leap’.
