I wonder if Australia could do it this time? Your only opponent is New Zealand, isn`t it? When was the last time Australia was in a World Cup?
Yes Australia will qualify in Germany in 2006. Yes the last time was 1974 but the U17, U23, Women teams have qualified for their respective competitions. However the seniors cup is incredibly difficult and Australia have had to climb impossible mountains to even get to go a playoff!! I am glad FIFA has realised that the OFC needs a spot in the world cup. However it is harsh to write of the socceroos because of the "wish we did it" (1997 anyone?) but we lost 1 game in qualifying and we missed out. That does not make sense, Uruguay lost many games in their qualifying (Iran anyone? They played Japan and lost before playing them) anyway the teams that played the Socceroos lost more games then Australia and qualified. Finally justice has been served and the Socceroos will be there in 2006 New Zealand will not make it because Farina insists that we will field a full squad.
Agreed that Australia will qualify for the 06 WC. In fact, it's been said that in the 06 Cup automatic qualifying spots have been limited to the host, but that fails to take account of the automatic qualifying spot that was gifted to Australia by FIFA when OFC was given a direct spot. All due respect to Aussies, they're wonderful sportsmen, but it's simply inaccurate to say that Oz had to climb impossible mountains to get to a playoff for the WC. At least this past year, all the Soccerroos had to do to get to a playoff was compete against other OFC foes. Hardly very challenging when the only other team that's in the FIFA top 100 is New Zealand. A US C-team just beat the Kiwis' top side -- it would be embarrassing if the Aussies couldn't do the same with their best team. I agree that the Socceroos have had a tough time of it in the past--the home-and-aways to Uruguay, Iran, and Argentina must have been heartbreaking. There's thus a sense of just desserts about Australia's -- I mean OFC's -- direct spot in this year's cup. But in the long term, I hope this changes. The most sensible option would be to put OFC's top two teams (Gee, I wonder who they will be?) in with the AFC qualifiers and let them duke it out. That way Australia isn't forced to inevitably contest a home and away for a spot in the big dance, but we're spared the absurdity of any team qualifying for the World Cup after beating up on the meager competition that is OFC.
yes but australia LOST to them... who cares if Uruguay lost to Brazil a few times. cuz australia could easily beat Brazil right?? i don't think the aussie's deserved a spot. if they can't beat any S.A. american/asian team than why are they so great they deserve a spot? that being said i'm still glad OFC got one. i hear vanuatu is on the up... i'd watch out for them come 2006.
US-C side beating New Zealand...yes the Socceroos....NO WAY!! The starting 11 plays in Europe the bench plays in Europe and the reserves are the only members to play in other leagues around the world. Look every onfederation has a spot and the OFC have been kicked in the face long enough. look America have another half spot to play the AFC. Australia yes have a rich and deep sporting history but saying a C side can beat an Ausralian A side is completely incorrect. Once again ignorance has set in. The training standards and methods of training is to the highest standard. There is a world out side of America. OFC deserves this spot. What about the other teams other than Australia and New Zealand? Remember it is the WORLD GAME. To say we didn't have to climb mountains to get to the finals must be in lala land we had our hands tied behind our backs and expected to qualify. I am sure the masterful Crowdie can back me up here. Yes our C/D side played an NZ A side and lost 1-0, i expected 3-0 loss but we lost by 1 so that was ok. However we should of won but it didn't and sparked the wonderful Crawford Report. (goto www.socceraustralia.com.au) Remember also the USA haven't beaten the Socceroos so that says a lot. Maybe the C side should replace them? But they did play Canada (I am going to cause a war here!) and the Carrabean and the only opposition is Mexico. We can beat Brazil and we have beated others but we need to do that more often to be more confident. The win against England was a huge confidence booster. Bring on more friendlies
I don't think he said anything about a US C side being able to play an Aussie A side off the pitch. Atlesat I didn't read it that way. The Soccerroos with their starting 11 is a great side that can put up a fight against the worlds best. -Unlike you, I don't think the fact that the US has not beaten the Aussies says anything at all (By that logic, the US is better than England since we beat them 1-0 in a World Cup match, the last meaningfiul game between the two). Anyway, i think it is about time you guys got a slot, should of been at the expense of UEFA imo though.
Stinkey is right about this. My point was that the Aussies' only remotely decent OFC competition is New Zealand, and if a US C-team can beat NZ's A-team, then New Zealand doesn't provide much competition at all. Thus beating them and a bunch of minnows is hardly the kind of accomplishment that merits placement in the World Cup. It amounts to an automatic spot for Oz and that's pretty generous for a team ranked 49th in the world. Now don't get me wrong, I think the previous format was unfair to Oz and that their automatic qualifying spot (looks like we agree that's what it is) makes up for past inequities. But going forward, I don't think ANY team other than host or holder should get an automatic spot, and that certainly includes the Socceroos. Put them and NZ in with AFC, let them prove their worth against some decent competition. If they can get in to the big dance, great--but it should be earned, not gifted.
I expect Australia will beat out New Zealand for the spot in '06, but it's not a foregone conclusion, as New Zealand is playing in the '03 Confederations Cup as a result of topping Australia in an OFC championship. I hope the long-term impact of this decison to give OFC direct entry to the World Cup finals is that it encourages New Zealand and other OFC members to invest more in the sport as qualifying for the World Cup is a far more attainable goal now.
But, as our Aussie friend pointed out above, this result came about only when Oz overconfidently fielded a third-rate side in the OFC championship finals against New Zealand's best players--a mistake they're not likely to make with the World Cup on the line.
Hell yes Australia will qualify for Deutschland 2006. The Socceroos are without question the most underrated team in the world. In the past few years having put up two wins over France, a 3-1 Win over England in London in February, And a near Confederations Cup championship in 2001. I'm glad fifa recognised the OFC. Every other nation gets automatic qualifiers, why doesn't the OFC?. And I'm sick of these Yanks who invade other countries boards and take subject from whatever the post's subject is to "Can America beat this team?". Quit being so selfish, hell no the Yanks can't beat Australia.
Yes, I remember the Confederations Cup 2001. Australia did great! So, I was somehow suprised that they didn`t win against Uruguay. The second game was 3:0 for Uruguay, correct? Although the circumstances in Uruguay were a little bit tough, I remember.
Dude, you're missing the point on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Let's see... My earlier post made the following point: Australia's competition in OFC is very weak. In order to illustrate this point, I observed that the only halfway decent team in OFC besides Oz -- New Zealand -- can't beat even the US C-team. That says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about whether or not the US would beat Australia. I don't know whether the US would beat the Socceroos. I don't have any basis for knowing how that hypothetical game would turn out. And the truth is, I don't care to speculate. My post was about Australia and their chances for qualifying in light of OFC getting a direct spot (which is, despite your comments about thread-hijacking, the topic of this thread).
What means C-team? Wasn´t it a B-team? And a loss in a friendly can happen any given time. Whatever, New Zealand isn`t that bad, they had a draw against Scotland 2 weeks ago.
I'm sure he'd agree since that's not what he said. What he said was if a second rate USA side can beat New Zealand, Australia should be able to beat New Zealand as well. That's a little unfair to New Zealand since they were on the roadagainst the USA and one of their best players played 90 the day before, but regardless that was his point. Simmer down a little.
They may of been underated by some, but saying they are the "most" underated team becasue they beat France and England in basically meaningless competition is dead wrong. Autralia should of beat Uraguay when it mattered, they didn't, end of story. Nations do not get automatic qualifiers, Confederations do...Australia is the closest to any nation getting automatic entry. Selfish? As in don't post in "our" Australia boards? Welcome to public message boards. What, pray tell, makes you so confident that the Yanks can't beat the Socceroos? I'd love to hear it. Why you Aussies get all hyped up and defensive is beyond me.
Quite true that is why many nations (middle east anyone?) Dislike America but enough of the politics the fact is that the US-of-A have not beaten the land of OZ ever! Not a single win nothing zip, zero whatever u want to call nothing. They have only drew or been beaten so i agree that the socceroos are the most underated side in the world (Cameroon also) but we need friendlies to shake off this tag. I reckon 4 at home and 4 away mainly in Europe or in.....the US-of-A if it comes to that. People may go on the defensive because of the attitude of americans who only think of themselves and think that they can beat anyone. In fact the Socceroos have a much more professional unit and the B-side has also a rich european professional experience behind them. New Zealand are improving all the time and the 1-1 draw with Scotland was well deserved. (Too bad about the Union match) Although people may say that our domestic league is rubbish then think again. ALL Socceroos players have played in the NSL at some stage and it is still recognised as a fountain of talent. But if you want to talk about the NSL then send it to the APL post. From my interpretation the NSL has a ot more depth in professionalism and talent than the MLS due to being propped up by the ethnic clubs in the 60's and 70's.
Bullocks ! Having seen both the MLS and Australia's NSL - I can tell you for certain that despite its being around for a much longer time, the NSL is quite weak. The situation in Australia is much like that of the US - the BEST athletes play other sports (Rugby, Aussie Rules Football, Cricket, Basketball). And as for a fan base....Aussies are as patriotic as anyone when it comes to national teams, but the average bloke could give a rat's arse about soccer. A Yank in Oz
I can't believe this turned into a thing about USA and Australia lol. But about the OFC getting a spot for 2006, it's just wrong. Saying that however, it's wrong for the OFC winner to play in a playoff against a fifth place CONMEBOL team or a 4th place AFC team (though that was more fairer than it is now). I have a solution that I have posted many times before. Keep the OFC at 1/2 a slot. But instead of having the Aussies play in a playoff at the end, have them play in a 6-team group with 1 team coming from every one of the 6 zones. So in theory, every region would have a certain amount of spots and then a half of a spot. The group would play a single round robin schedule (5 matches) and it would be done right at the end of the Qualifying Round. It would also be done within a two week span as to not take too much time off the international calendar and would be staged in Germany since they are hosting it. The top 3 teams would then qualify. I mean, I always hear Aussie fans saying that they want a fairer chance, well here it is. And please, stop using the excuse that "oh well we only lost 1 match and didn't qualify while other teams lost a few and did" because that doesn't matter when you're playing teams like American Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, etc. Uruguay lost to some of the best competition in the world in the Qualifying Round for the 2002 WC and still defeated Australia 3:0 in the second leg (yes I know about the treatment they got and it was wrong, but my point remains the same). Trust me, I think the situation that the Aussies are in is unfair, but remember they are still a 49th ranked team. They should have kept the 1/2 of a spot and used my plan, cause that would have helped their cause and at the same time didn't make it like an auto spot. The one good thing that comes from this though is that hopefully the talent in the region will improve.
Look maybe for people in Sydney they don't (that is not Australia by the way) You should see it in PERTH. Where there is a large expat population all soccernuts. yes afl is dominant here but is being challenged by Perth Glory. Everybody talks about them they have been since 1996. Soccer is BIG over here so don't judge the rest of Australia because of what happens in the east. As for what we REALLY should talk about yes they are 49th in the world that is because of lack of regular friendlies. The only regular matches we play were Confederation Cup tournaments but we screwed it up with a C-team. we have only played 8 games over 2 years and that is shocking. The more we play the better we get. That is why the US-of-A are 10th because they cream the carrabean sides and Canada (sorry) and then they play Mexico and qualify. That also boosts the rankings. But Australia are the strongest in the OFC that is true but it isn't just for Australia. At least Fiji, PNG, Cook Islands and American Samoa have a better chance of competing. They now have a purpose in the qualifiers. the more games we play we will rise the ladder. Really i think Australia and New Zealand should be in the top 20 but sadly they don't play often and Confederation Cups come 2 years so that isn't enough. The OFC has deserved the spot because afterall they are a CONFEDERATION that hasn't been given a spot ever. By the way the old system was not fair at all. Australia won all their games and lost 1. Yes i know that one mattered the most but that was 1 loss compared to Uruguay who lost many to finish 5th to play us.
I couldn't have put it any better. But if Uruguay lost all those games, then Australia should have beaten them easily, no? Or maybe it means that the best OFC can offer isn't as good as Conmebol's worst qualifier. Look, suppose you went around beating up 5 year old kids and taking their lunch money. And another guy, let's call him Uruguay, went around fighting adults for money. He won some, he lost some. Now, suppose you fight Uruguay and Uruguay beats you up. Are you going to say that you deserve Uruguay's lunch money because Uruguay lost a few of his fights while you haven't lost a single fight to a 5 year old?
The OFC never asked for a handout and it hasn't been given it. The automatic qualification of one OFC team to the 2006 World Cup is a hand up in an area where other sports dominate. FIFA's role includes promoting soccer in areas where it is still developing. That is what FIFA has done by granting the OFC one automatic qualification berth. If the OFC do not use this to develop soccer in the Pacific Island nations then there is nothing stopping FIFA from taking it away from the OFC. If you are a Samoan child and you see no Samoans playing in the soccer World Cup but you see the Samoan rugby team doing well at the rugby World Cup which sport are you going to play? The big task for the OFC is to make the Nations Cup a serious tournament with more than three countries (Australia, Fiji and New Zealand) really challenging for it. If this happens then the OFC World Cup qualifying tournament will be just as successful. Crowdie.
Couldn't agree with u more there crowdie. This is to promote the game and to raise awareness in the Pacific and give them a realistic target of competing with the big boys. What can I say I can't fault you on this one Crowdie!