Doha: The Socceroos have done their bit, players say – now it’s up to the sport’s administrators and decision-makers in Australia to capitalise on the huge surge in interest their thrilling World Cup campaign has created.
As the 26 members of Graham Arnold’s squad fly out to their clubs around the world, attention will now shift from their historic feats in Qatar to those in charge of the game back home, and how they will harness the opportunity that the Socceroos have created for them.
Australia’s two-win performance in Qatar – as well as their spirited exit in a 2-1 defeat to Lionel Messi’s Argentina – has restored the team’s popularity to levels not seen since the 2006 World Cup, with tens of thousands of people defying their body clocks and sleeping patterns to turn up at live sites around the country in the dead of night to watch them play.
Scenes of a packed, flare-dotted Federation Square in Melbourne were used as motivation by Arnold and his players during the tournament – and there were so many eager to join in the raucous festivities for the round of 16 clash that it quickly reached capacity and AAMI Park was opened as another viewing option, attracting a huge crowd that would have outstripped many recent A-League matches played there.
Now the Socceroos want to see their hard work leave a lasting legacy.
“What we’ve done right now, it should be a no-brainer, really,” Behich said.
“We’ve accomplished something with this group that no other Socceroos team has – we’ve kept clean sheets, we’re scoring every game in a World Cup, we got out of the group stage with equal points on top [with France], and we only lost to France and Argentina.
Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, left, and Australia’s Aziz Behich vie for the ball.Credit:AP
“Us as players, on our side, in this group, we’ve done our part, and the other part to grow the game – obviously, that bit’s out of our hands, and those people know who they are. But this should be a massive stepping stone for football in Australia to go forward. I can’t see why it shouldn’t.
“I’m hoping that we’ve inspired the next generation coming through that it’s possible to match the best in the world, even being Australian.
“It puts the A-League on the map as well: we had a fair few boys from the A-League in there as well. This is the perfect moment for Australian football to step forward and make sure that the sport gets more recognised back at home.”
Melbourne’s Federation Square was the place to be during the World Cup.Credit:The Age
Craig Goodwin – who scored against France and whose shot yielded the own goal that gave the Socceroos a hint of hope in the second half against Argentina – is one of eight A-League players from the squad who will return to their domestic clubs as the competition resumes next weekend.
The local game has long grappled with an inferiority complex, but Goodwin said what they’ve achieved in Qatar, with a group of largely unheralded players, should destroy it once and for all, and reinforces the team’s internal view that Australia is capable of genuinely competing with the world’s top football nations – not 10, 20 or even 50 years in the future, but right now.
“We hope that what we’ve achieved here can can help grow the game back home, because the A-League is better than then its perceived. The quality of Australian football is better than its perceived, and I think it’s been that way for a long time,” the Adelaide United winger said.
“Hopefully, what we’ve been able to achieve here can put the Australian football on the map and help the game grow. Thank you to the Australian public, and I guess the message to them is get out and see the Socceroos players that are playing in the A-League.
“Support your local teams and embrace Australian football, and help it grow … it’s about building on what we’ve done here, and not just as this playing group, but as a nation as well, to give Australian footballers, boys and girls, the platform to perform on the biggest stage in the world, and to be able to give those players what they need to match it with the best.”
There is reason to be highly optimistic about what the Socceroos’ future could look like, given the exciting generation of young players coming through the ranks of the national team and below.
Harry Souttar, easily the team’s best performer in Qatar, is still only 24 and has forced a centre-back partnership with Kye Rowles, also 24, which could be the backbone of Australia’s next two World Cup cycles.
Garang Kuol, the 18-year-old dynamo who will join Newcastle United in the English Premier League next month, almost scored the leveller against Argentina deep in injury time, and seems destined for superstardom – while Keanu Baccus, the former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder who now plays for St Mirren in Scotland, had Messi’s measure for much of the match, dispossessing the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner on multiple occasions.
“It’s a great feeling, playing it’s the best in the world and [knowing] you can do well,” Baccus said.
“The bar’s really close, and I know what I’ve got to do when I go home – work hard, improve and get better as a player. It’s been a great experience. I definitely know that we can go toe-to-toe with these guys as well, so it’s good for us as a country as well.”
