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Despite qualifying the hard way, Australia are looking to cause an upset at the World Cup.
The guys from Down Under qualified through one of the most difficult paths, so they will certainly appreciate being at the World Cup more than most teams. They might have slim chances of making any impact in Qatar, but they’ve overcome big odds before, and they could do it again.
Australia's Road to Qatar
Australia’s path to the Qatar 2022 World Cup was long and complicated. They played through a total of four rounds of qualification before confirming their spot in Qatar.
They played in the second round of Asian Football Confederation qualifiers, topping their qualification group and moving on to the third round. In the third round, with the top two teams in the group guaranteed qualification to the World Cup, Australia could only finish third behind Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
They needed to win a fourth-round playoff against the United Arab Emirates to secure a place in the inter-confederation play-off against Peru. They eventually beat the UAE 2-1 and defeated Peru on penalties to secure qualification. It was a lot harder than they would have expected, but they will be happy to be in Qatar regardless.
Australia's best performances at the World Cup
Australia will be playing in their fifth consecutive World Cup tournament since breaking a 32-year drought in 2006.
They have left at the group stage in four of their five World Cup appearances, with their best finish also coming in 2006 when they reached the Round of 16.
With players like Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka, and Mark Schwarzer in the squad, Australia were seconds away from going to extra time with Italy, who had a man down but fell to a dodgy 95th-minute Francesco Totti penalty.
They may have had the advantage in extra time, and they were rightly upset with the penalty decision. Despite the disappointment of losing in that manner, they could still hold their heads high, knowing that they had achieved Australia’s best finish at the World Cup.
Australia’s final World Cup squad
Australia’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is a far cry from the famous squad that took the world by storm in 2006, but they still have a few notable names who stand out in their final squad list.
They mostly have an inexperienced squad, with 50% of the team having made 10 or fewer international appearances for Australia, including the Central Coast Mariners’ 18-year-old forward Garang Kuol, who is the second youngest player at the World Cup.
Australia full World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan (FC Copenhagen), Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC), Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners)
Defenders: Aziz Behich (Dundee United), Milos Degenek (Columbus Crew), Thomas Deng (Aibirex Niigata), Joel King (Odense Boldklub), Nathaniel Atkinson (Hearts), Fran Karacic (Brescia), Harry Souttar (Stoke City), Kye Rowles (Hearts), Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United)
Midfielders: Aaron Mooy (Celtic), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Ajdin Hrustic (Hellas Verona), Bailey Wright (Sunderland), Cameron Devlin (Hearts), Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Keanu Baccus (St Mirren)
Forwards: Awer Mabil (Cadiz), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), James Maclaren (Melbourne City), Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners), Mitchell Duke (Fagiano Okayama), Garang Kuol (Central Coast Mariners)
See the list of every country's World Cup squads here
Australia key players at the World Cup
Aaron Mooy
The heartbeat of the Socceroos' midfield is Celtic's deep-lying playmaker Aaron Mooy, who will be central (pardon the pun) to their attacking and building as they look to cause an upset in Group D.
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Without the former Manchester City, Huddersfield, and Brighton midfielder, Australia’s win percentage during the qualifiers dropped from 75% to 50%, and his absence from their games through injury was key to them needing a longer route to reach the World Cup.
They’ll be hoping he can stay fit throughout the duration of the World Cup so that they can be at their best.
Mathew Ryan
Another former Brighton man, Matthew Ryan, has been Australia’s number-one goalkeeper since 2013 and will be heading into his third World Cup with the national team in Qatar.
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He has been in questionable form for Copenhagen this season, but international football tends to bring out the best in players like this. He was in goal for Australia throughout the qualifiers and will likely be in goal for them once again at the World Cup since they could use his vast experience in a squad of relative newbies.
Australia’s coach at the World Cup
Coach Graham Arnold will be the third Australian to take the national team to the World Cup, in his second stint with them.
After a largely unsuccessful first spell that ended in 2007, he came back to make amends and has set about doing so impressively. He has the highest winning percentage of any permanent Australian national team coach heading into the World Cup and would be hoping to keep that record even after Qatar.
Australia World Cup group fixtures
Australia vs France 22nd November 20:00 UTC +1 (Local Nigerian time)
Australia vs Tunisia 26th November 11:00 UTC +1
Australia vs Denmark 30th November 16:00 UTC +1
Australia’s chances and odds to win the World Cup
Australia is not going to win the World Cup; it is just that simple. The bookies have given them no chance of winning, but if you still want to back them, you can do so for a ridiculous 350.00 odds, which, while highly unlikely, could make you a millionaire.
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