Australia World Cup 2018
Australia first qualified for a World Cup finals in 1974, and failed to even score a goal as they exited the tournament at the group stage. It was another thirty-two years before they would reach a finals again.
History at the World Cup
That second appearance came in 2006, and they performed above expectations to finish ahead of Croatia and Japan to reach the last 16. They put in a supreme effort against Italy in that last 16 encounter, but the eventual winners picked up a narrow 1-0 victory to send Australia out of the competition. Australia have become a permanent fixture at the finals since then, with Russia 2018 being their fourth consecutive appearance.
Unfortunately, they haven’t managed to repeat that 2006 effort and have gone out at the group stage in their past two appearances. 2014 was their worst effort to date, losing all three matches to Netherlands, Spain, and Chile to finish rock bottom of the group with no points.
- World Cup Finals Appearances – 4
- Previous Best Performance – Last 16
How they qualified
Australia entered the Asian Football Confederation qualifying section ranked tenth in the region, and only with a slim chance of claiming one of the available qualification places.
In round two, they were drawn in a group with Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Bangladesh. They did suffer an unexpected defeat away to Kyrgyzstan but won the other seven matches to finish five points clear at the top of the group and advance to the next round.
Their round three group matched them against Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Thailand, with two automatic qualification places and a play-off spot available.
Australia won five, drew four, and suffered one defeat as they finished third behind Japan and Saudi Arabia. They missed out on automatic qualification on gaol difference and instead moved forward to a play-off against Syria.
It was a hard-fought encounter over two legs, with Australia eventually picking up a narrow 3-2 aggregate victory after extra time in the second leg.
That moved them to a final play-off, this time an inter-confederation one against Honduras, the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region.
A 0-0 draw in Honduras meant the second leg was a winner-takes-all encounter.
Australia had home advantage and their captain, Mile Jedinak, stepped up to lead by example, and net a hat-trick as his side won 3-1 to book their place in Russia.
Coach/Manager
The Australian national team are currently without a head coach.
Ange Postecoglou had been in-charge since 2013, leading them to the 2014 World Cup and winning the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Two weeks after Australia qualified for Russia 2018, Postecoglou announced his resignation and misses out on the chance to become the first manager to lead Australia at two separate World Cups.
Several names have been mentioned as candidates for the role, including former Crystal Palace player and assistant manager Tony Popovic, and current Sydney FC manager Graham Arnold.
It is as yet unknown who will take the role, or what impact this will have on the squad’s preparation ahead of the World Cup finals.
Star Players
Former Everton attacking midfielder Tim Cahill is still a big part of the squad, despite just turning thirty-eight years old. He is currently searching for a club to gain enough game time to warrant his selection in the World Cup squad, although finishing top scorer in qualifying with eleven goals doesn’t harm his case.
Cahill is a vastly experienced player who has featured in three previous World Cup tournaments. In fact, he became the first Australian to score a goal at a finals tournament in 2006.
Captain Mile Jedinak is another vastly experienced player whose role is vital to the team. Many English football fans will recognise him, and his trademark beard, as he spent five years at Crystal Palace and is now in the Championship with Aston Villa.
Australia World Cup 2018: Assessing their Chances & Odds
The bookmakers have Australia priced as 14/1 outsiders to win a group containing France, Peru, and Denmark, and it’s easy to see why.
They are the lowest FIFA ranked team in the group by some margin, and their recent head to head record against other teams in the group doesn’t make for great reading.
A friendly against France in 2013 ended in a 6-0 drubbing, and the year before that they lost 2-0 to Denmark. They do have victories over both of those sides, beating France in 2001 and Denmark in 2010, but even the most recent of those was a long time ago.
While they certainly have a great team spirit and will give it their all, Australia lack the quality in depth of the other three teams in the group and this looks likely to be a tough tournament for them.
Our Australia World Cup 2018 Prediction
They are the outsiders of the group for good reason, and it’s hard to see Australia making it through the group stage in Russia. Our prediction is a lot of effort from the players that ends with at least two defeats and an early exit from the tournament.