The Souq Waqif market in central Doha is teeming with humanity at the moment. Qatari men in thobes and – far fewer – women in abayas and niqabs jostle with football shirts from all over the world. In this Babel, Socceroos jerseys are scarce and hard to spot, and usually turn out to be Brazil’s anyway.
But they’ll be more recognisable and respected inside puffed-out chests for the next couple of days, just as the Socceroos themselves are standing out in a crowd. It’s a big crowd, too: it’s the world.
A soccer fan lets off a flare at Melbourne’s Federation Square during the Socceroos’ World Cup match.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Three huge upsets have punctuated this World Cup: Saudi Arabia over Argentina, Japan over Germany and the Socceroos’ victory for the ages over Denmark. But Saudi Arabia has been eliminated, and as this is being written, Japan needs to beat Spain to be sure of qualifying. But the Socceroos are through to the last 16.
It’s worth saying and savouring again: of all the nations on Earth who set their sights on this World Cup four years ago, only 16 will remain on Friday, and Australia is one of them.
More to the point, Australia will be with the United States the only two of those 16 in which soccer is not the No.1 football code. Coach Graham Arnold felt compelled to stress this in a press conference before the Denmark game.
One of Arnold’s oft-repeated themes is that the Socceroos and Matildas are the only sporting teams that can unite the nation. The outpouring of love and flares in Federation Square as Australia beat Tunisia and toppled Denmark and the TV ratings bear him out. This is not a mere flash mob.
Mathew Leckie and his Socceroos teammates celebrate his goal against Denmark.Credit:AP
Here’s a working theory: the soccer teams give Australians wider scope than any other to indulge in their national vocation of poking the world in the eye. For all the cultural and demographic change in Australia since the Socceroos first made the World Cup finals, that has not changed.
Most if not all the sports at which we excel are artefacts of the British Empire. The world game is the game played worldwide. Only six English-speaking countries made it to the World Cup finals, and only three remain.
In other sports and other endeavours, Australia tends to overplay the underdog card, but in soccer, it is still our trump.
Besides, who doesn’t like a fairytale? The Socceroos qualified for the World Cup the hard way. After a promising beginning, they lost their way. Because of COVID, they were stranded for months at a time outside the country, more often than not in Qatar, a blessing as it turns out.
Big Harry Souttar slides in for another tackle against Denmark’s Kasper Dolberg.Credit:AP
They played 20 games on three continents over nearly three years, and it was not until the last kick of a penalty shoot-out against Peru in June that they sealed their spot. The best-known Socceroo then was reserve goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne and his grey Wiggle act. Much fun as that was, it was hardly a ringing endorsement of the Socceroos’ quality.
It meant that Socceroos began the World Cup with no greater hope for them than that the capricious nature of the world game would favour them. A first-up thrashing from France destroyed even that hope. But they beat Tunisia and Denmark on merit, and both opposing coaches were gracious enough to say so.
How? What switch was flicked? Another of Arnold’s themes in this tournament is that Australian DNA is unique. It’s about heart and fight and a refusal to surrender rather than mere technical and clinical skill. The players repeat it like a mantra.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold celebrates at the final whistle.Credit:Getty Images
In 2022, it sounds elementary and naff, and it displeased many in Australian soccer who see themselves and their game as more sophisticated than that. On match eve, Arnold was moved to tone it down slightly, saying there was more to Australia than boxing Kangaroos in long shorts. Pragmatism was only part of it.
And yet here’s Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand at match’s end: “I think we started pretty well tonight with good positions. And then you see the structures just go out of the match, and it is too emotional and too little quality, and that’s the one thing we shouldn’t do against Australia in a match like this, one full of emotion, lots of fight. We have to play with quality.”
In Australia’s Quixotic campaign, Arnold has been the central figure. In his very guilelessness, he is enigmatic. He’s as old-fashioned Australian as the Hills hoist or a lamington. Even in soccer circles, he’s not everyone’s shot of espresso. Yet the world game in Australia has had no fiercer servant and proselytiser.
He took the reins when the Socceroos were at a low ebb after the 2018 World Cup, and volunteered for the Olyroos job, too. He rode out the long qualifying odyssey. In marshalling a team, he unearthed a couple of Scotsmen, each with one Australian parent, and convinced them of their Australian-ness.
One, Martin Boyle, is here but on crutches, unfortunately, but the other is central defender Harry Souttar, who has emerged in all ways as a giant in this mission.
For those who might sneer, this is the Australian way. Every Olympic team is replete with new Australians. The Wallabies and Kangaroos are not immune, either.
This team’s motif is “many journeys, one jersey”. There’s a cogent argument to say that this Socceroos team is only as exotic as Australia is now. They’re a melting pot, like us. Besides, who would not want to identify with them now? Write your answer on a placard and lodge it at Federation Square on Sunday morning.
While we’re here, it’s worth mentioning that Australia’s first Indigenous Socceroo, John Moriarty, found acceptance in the multi-hued immigrant community that he did not always feel in mainstream Australia at the time.
What long-term gain this all brings for Australian soccer is a genuinely open question. It has a history of taking a giant step forward and falling back two, of being a house that repeatedly divides against itself. Can it unite internally as the Socceroos have united the nation?
That’s for the future. For now, it’s c’mon Lionel Messi, show us what you’ve got.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
