Soccer has a big part in the hearts of Australians. The nation has been deeply involved in this popular global sport for a long time now and reaching the finals of the FIFA World Cup of Football is every football-loving country wants. Australia’s national soccer team has actually reached World Cup Finals for a total of four times. That is twice in Germany in 1974 and 2006, South Africa in 2010 and this year in Brazil.
Australia did not enter the World Cup between the beginning of the 1930s and the start of the 1960s. The team was not able to qualify in 1966 and 1970. However, in 1974 marked the first time they reached the World Cup Finals but they could only go as far as the first round, missing out on the dream of winning trophies. The performance of the Socceroos did not impress many football fans, as they were not able to make a single goal. Between the next World Cup, which is 1978 and in 2002, Australia failed to qualify but they were able to reach the Finals in 2006.
Although Australia had all the determination to win one of the soccer trophies, reaching the World Cup Finals alone proved more difficult than they expected. Back in the year 1966 for the World Cup to be held in England, Australia made its first attempt to qualify and of all opponents, it was pitted against North Korea in a stadium in Cambodia.
In the qualifying matches on the road to World Cup USA 94, Australia beat New Zealand, then it went on to play against Canada. The North American nation was defeated and the Aussie soccer team was able to reach the playoff, this time Argentina was the team they had to beat. Unfortunately, Australia lost and they did not get a place at the 1994 USA World Cup.
For the 1998 World Cup that will be held in France, the Australian Socceroos won the Oceania Football Confederation. However , they were beaten by Iran confirming the fact that they will not be playing in France. After another four years, Australia once more turned out to be the winner of the OFC qualifying tournament. However, it was not able to conquer its opponent from South America, Uruguay. As a result, Australia missed a chance to play at the Japan-South Korea World Cup.
2006 was a special year for the Aussie national soccer team as they returned to Germany where they last made an appearance at the FIFA World Cup 32 years earlier. The return though did not surprise a lot of viewers but it made a significant impact on the citizens from the Land Down Under. This was the time when soccer gained even more popularity in Australia. The Socceroos were able to defend their goal against Italy but in a sudden reversal of fortune, the Aussie team was given a penalty and the Italians won the game.
The Australian Socceroos made it to the World Cup Finals in South Africa. Fighting against Germany in the first game, they did not stand a chance and one of their strikers was given a red card. They later defeated Ghana to compensate for the painful loss. On the next game of soccer, played against Serbia, the Socceroos won but that was as far as they could go since they were eliminated because of a poor goal difference.
