|
The Australian
national team first played at the World Cup finals in West Germany in
1974[1] 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[2].
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.
The team
performed with honour at the 1974 World Cup, and although unable to
overcome the professional teams from host nations East and West Germany, the Socceroos,
captained by local amateur Peter
Wilson, did manage a scoreless draw against
Chile. 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 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).
While in Germany
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 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."[5] 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. Prepration for 2010 would
cup.
Australia defeats
New
Zealand 2-1 in Melbourne, Victoria. Australia defeats
Denmark 1-0 in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South
Africa. United
States defeats Australia 3-1 in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South
Africa. The noe good thing about asralia is
there great baria reef . And thats were yoy would find all the tropical
fish like clown fish/ sea horses and minnow.
In Asralia there is a
big invirment of anmles like kowalas / wombats / kangroos / camles /
crocodiles and rats.
|
