The squad is picked, preparations have begun on the ground and Australia’s 2022 FIFA World Cup fate awaits in Qatar when the tournament begins in a week from today.
This is Australia’s fifth straight appearance at international football’s showpiece event, a remarkable fact considering the decades of pain and near-misses that preceded the Socceroos’ unforgettable qualification for the 2006 finals.
The streak looked under serious threat in the late stage of a long and dramatic qualification campaign before the Socceroos squeezed past Peru on penalties to book the last of 32 spots on offer in Qatar. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of what promises to be a thrilling ride.
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Socceroos react to World Cup call up! | 01:21
WHO ARE THE SOCCEROOS PLAYING?
Australia has been drawn in Group D. It’s not exactly the “group of death” but there’s no getting around it — it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Socceroos to escape it and reach the knockout stage for only the second time in their history.
Group D is also home to reigning champions France, who are currently rated the world’s fourth best side on the FIFA rankings — 34 spots ahead of the Socceroos. The French squad features some of the biggest names in world football in Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, PSG megastar Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. Their squad also features exciting youngsters like Aurelien Tchouameni and Arsenal’s William Saliba but big guns Paul Pogba and N‘Golo Kante will be missing through injury. See Didier Deschamps’ full 25-man squad here.
The Socceroos face another top 10-ranked opponent in Denmark, the clear second favourites to progress from the group and a tournament dark horse in the eyes of many. Coach Kasper Hjulmand has so far named 21 of his 26-man squad and the most notable name to most fans is Christian Eriksen, the Manchester United star who has made an incredible comeback from suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020.
The Danes, led by inspirational skipper Simon Kjaer at the back, made the semi-finals at the tournament, negotiated World Cup qualifying with relative ease and boast talent all over the park.
Tunisia loom as the most beatable of Australia’s opponents, having also scraped through qualifying in unconvincing fashion.
However the world’s 30th-ranked nation are far from easybeats with a squad featuring plenty of European-based talent. Like the Socceroos, they pride themselves on a tough resolve and are likely to sit back and absorb pressure, with skipper Youssef Msakni and France-based striker Wahbi Khazri posing significant threats in attack.
WHEN ARE THE SOCCEROOS PLAYING?
Australia v France: Wednesday, November 23, 6am AEDT – Al Janoub Stadium
Australia v Tunisia: Saturday, November 26, 9pm AEDT – Al Janoub Stadium
Australia v Denmark: Thursday, December 1, 2am AEDT – Al Janoub Stadium
FIXTURES: EVERY GAME FOR EVERY NATION WITH AEDT START TIMES
Mane to miss World Cup | 00:32
WHO IS IN THE SOCCEROOS SQUAD?
Squad sizes have been increased to 26 from the usual 23 for this World Cup and there were more than a few surprises when Graham Arnold announced his playing group for the tournament last week.
Veterans including Tom Rogic, Trent Sainsbury and Mitch Langerak missed out as 17 World Cup debutants were named in a youthful squad with an average age of just 25 if you discount a veteran trio of goalkeepers in Mat Ryan, Andrew Redmayne and Danny Vukovic.
Players like Keanu Baccus, Cameron Devlin and Joel King would be unfamiliar to many casual Australian sporting fans but they’ve been given a chance to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage as Arnold bids to set the Socceroos up future success whatever happens in Qatar.
SQUADS: Every nations’ squad as they’re announced
Socceroos full squad breakdown! | 05:34
Teenager Garang Kuolwill become Australia’s youngest ever World Cup player after the 18-year-old’s remarkable selection despite having never started a professional match. The Newcastle United-bound youngster is joined in the squad by another intriguing selection from the Central Coast Mariners, with Scottish-born striker Jason Cummings included as another potential X-Factor player.
But Australia’s hopes in Qatar will likely hinge on the established stars of Arnold’s squad like Aaron Mooy, Ajdin Hrustic and Martin Boyle, with the fitness of first-choice centre backs Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles – both coming off significant injuries — also key.
SOCCEROOS’ 26-MAN WORLD CUP SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan (c), Andrew Redmayne, Danny Vukovic
Defenders: Nathaniel Atkinson, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Thomas Deng, Fran Karacic, Joel King, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Bailey Wright
Midfielders: Keanu Baccus, Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy
Forwards: Martin Boyle, Jason Cummings, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Garang Kuol, Mat Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren
WHERE ARE THE SOCCEROOS PLAYING?
All of the Socceroos’ group stage matches will be played at the 40,000-seat Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar’s second largest city located just 17km away from downtown Doha.
The stadium, designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid who died in 2016, was the first stadium built from scratch for this World Cup. It features a retractable roof and an appearance inspired by the traditional boats used for pearl divers in the region — though some have pointed out the design resembles female genitalia, a claim Hadid dismissed as “ridiculous”.
The stadium features the cooling technology being used in Qatar that will keep the temperatures on the playing surface to around 20 degrees, with winter temperatures outside forecast to reach up to 35 degrees.
The Socceroos have played there once before — defeating Jordan 2-1 in June, one of several matches that gave Australia crucial experience playing inside Qatar’s airconditioned stadiums during the qualifiers.
“It‘s like playing on ceramic tiles if you haven’t played on them because of the heat coming down and the airconditioning going up, once it collides, it moistens a whole place,” Arnold told foxsports.com.au
“It’s cold, believe it or not, it’s 20 degrees and the ball just hangs because the airconditioning blowers, they’re about two metres off the ground … Anything above two metre the ball hangs.
“So it can be tricky And we’ve had those experiences of we’ve played five games there and we’ve won all five and we’ve experienced those airconditioned stadiums.”
If the Socceroos can make it to the Round of 16 they will play at either the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium or Al Thumama Stadium.
WHERE ARE THEY STAYING?
The Socceroos will base themselves at Doha’s Aspire Academy for the duration of their campaign.
Tim Cahill is Chief Sport Officer at Aspire and played a role in securing the facility, which will also be used as the host nation’s team base.
Australia’s players will eat, sleep and train at the spacious facility, which features a full-sized indoor pitch, seven outdoor pitches, and other sporting facilities including a swimming pool, outdoor gym and squash courts
While there have been suggestions the Socceroos will be slumming it in dormitory style sleeping arrangements, Arnold insists Australia’s players will have a key advantage over the many rival nations staying in fancy hotels.
“A lot of these nations are going to have a beautiful hotel … with no football park, nothing nearby. OK, they‘ll have shops but there’ll be 1.4 million people (in Doha) and they’re not going be able to go outside their hotel,” Arnold said.
“But with us at the Aspire, we’ve got football pitches all around us. The boys can go have a game cricket if they want and they can go out and just lay in the sun. We’re getting set up a big TV, with a cafeteria outside with a big tent over it so the boys can sit and watch other games and have coffees and just be together.”
WHY HAVE THE SOCCEROOS ALREADY MADE HEADLINES WORLDWIDE?
Qatar’s World Cup has been littered with controversy ever since it was controversially awarded hosting rights back in 2010.
The host nation’s human rights record — particularly around workers’ rights — has been fiercely debated and Australia has taken the strongest stance of any competing nation so Socceroos players last month released a video message voicing their concerns about the issues, including Qatar’s laws opposing homosexuality. Other teams have also spoken out about issues and captains from a number of leading European countries, including England, France and Germany, will wear armbands in rainbow colours with the message “One Love” in an anti-discrimination campaign.
FIFA has since called on teams at the World Cup in Qatar to “focus on football” and stop “handing out moral lessons” in a message that received a sharp rebuke from Amnesty International and caused social media backlash.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee also responds to the Socceroos’ protest by welcoming players raising “important matters” but defending the progress that had been made around workers’ rights and point out “no country is perfect”, even Australia.
Socceroos speak out against Qatar | 03:07
WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S WORLD CUP RECORD?
In six World Cups — also competing in West Germany in 1974 — Australia have only made it through the group stage once, in 2006, before falling to eventual champions Italy in heartbreaking circumstances.
In fact Australia has only ever won two World Cup matches, beating Japan 3-1 in 2006 and Serbia 2-1 at South Africa 2010 before narrowly missing group stage complication. The Socceroos have drawn four, and lost ten of their 16 matches at World Cup finals.
Getting to the World Cup is hard enough, scoring goals and winning matches when you’re there is even harder.
Arnie joins FSN for post-selection IV | 08:37
WHAT ARE OUR CHANCES?
Local betting markets have the Socceroos as much as $250 to in the World Cup but they’re rated as much as 750-1 outsiders in overseas markets. The realistic goal for Arnold’s team is to reach the Round of 16 and they’re rated a $3.80 chance of doing that by the TAB.
Just getting to this World Cup is an achievement for this Socceroos team but Socceroos great Robbie Slater believes going a step further is a realistic goal.
According to analysts Stats Insider, the Aussies have a 17.5% chance of making it out of Group D, and a 0.1% chance of winning the tournament.
“It’s going to be difficult but it’s not undoable,” Slater told The Back Page.
“If you look at 2006 and 2010, we had four points at both of those World Cups.
“In South Africa we were beaten 4-0 in the opening game and goal difference meant we didn’t progress to the group stage.
“So we need to not lose heavily one game, and grab four points. I think we can beat Tunisia — they’ll think they can beat us of course — and then we’ve got to get a point against France or Denmark.”
