World Cup Team Profiles: Group D: Australia

Teams / Ari Last / 01 March 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

They'll still be smarting from Fabio Grosso's 'tumble' in 2006, so expect the Aussies to touch-down in South Africa fuelled by the nagging and highly motivational feeling of injustice...

The Soceroos played 28 matches in order to participate at this summer's World Cup, so you could forgive them for being more determined than most to enjoy themselves once there.

At [140.0] to win it, they've seemingly got no chance, however rather than lifting the trophy, Australia's aim will be to at least match their final 16 performance last time out, though at [3.1] to qualify from a tough group D, they're not being given much of a chance.

Nation: Australia

Also knows as...
'The Soceroos'

Route to South Africa...
Insanely long, but to their credit, navigated effortlessly. Australia were top of the class during the 14-match first phase, before topping the next group ahead of Qatar, China and Iraq. They then did the same in the final phase, staying unbeaten and finishing well ahead of nearest challengers Japan.

World Cup Pedigree...
2006 was their first appearance in 32 years, and only the second in their history. Their performance therefore, in finishing runners-up in a group containing Brazil, Croatia and Japan was more than admirable, and they'll be looking for a similarly good showing this time around.

They'll be relying on...
The aerial phenomenon that is Tim Cahill. Everton's brilliant midfielder is their best player by far, and his ability to settle tight games from set piece situations could prove key in the pressure-cooker that is World Cup football.

Something you may not have known is...
Australia's most significant World Cup memories have been incredibly painful. Their exit to Italy in the second round of the 2006 tournament was shrouded in controversy after Fabio Grosso allegedly dived to win a last minute penalty.

In 2002, after winning 1-0 in the first leg, the Aussies were thrashed 3-0 by Uruguay in Montevideo to be denied at the play-off phase.

And while the aforementioned defeats were painful, nothing hurt quite as much as what occurred in the 1998 play-off with Iran. After gaining a credible 1-1 draw in Tehran, Australia, then led by Terry Venables, raced into a 2-0 lead in the return tie.

Qualification looked assured, and the biggest football crowd in Australian history was ready to celebrate. This was before the Iranians scored two late goals which saw them progress at the home side's expense.

It was a tragic moment that many of those who played that day are yet to recover from, and it, along with Grosso-gate, are key reasons why Tim Cahill and co are raring to go in 2010.

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