Even if you’re not one of the 300 million people in the world who play football at any level, you’ve probably heard that the World Cup gets underway Friday morning Australian time in Brazil.
What is the World Cup & why are we there?
Held every four years, the World Cup – billed as the greatest show on earth – is the world’s largest single sport event, involving 32 teams from across the globe in a four-week tournament to determine the ‘world champions’ for the next four years. Spain currently hold that title.
The 32 teams are not necessarily the best 32 teams. They are drawn, largely on a playing population basis, from six world groups (known in the football world as confederations) who play a series of ‘World Cup qualifiers’ over the preceding 2-3 years.
Australia is part of the Asian Football Confederation which stretches from Uzbekistan and the Middle East (other than Israel) through to east Asia and south to Australia. The other representatives from Asia in this year’s World Cup are the traditional powerhouse Asian teams of Japan and Korea as well as Iran.
This is the third consecutive World Cup for which Australia has qualified, after enduring a 32-year hiatus from its first appearance in 1974 until its second in 2006.
How is the tournament staged?
Each of the 32 teams starts off in one-of-eight groups of four teams that were determined by a public draw (and spectacular ‘show’) six months ago. Australia is in what many expert commentators call one a ‘group of death’ because of the quality of the teams in the group. We're ranked 62nd in the world; our opponents are 1st, 14th and 15th.
The teams in a group play each other once to determine the standing within each group after three matches – in other words, a ‘ladder’. The top two teams from each group progress to what is referred to as the ‘second stage’ or ‘round of 16’. From this point, every game is a knockout – if you lose, you’re out – until the Final to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 14 July our time.
The best we’ve done so far is to make it to the round of 16 in 2006 when we were defeated – dramatically in literally the final minutes of the game – by the eventual champions, Italy. In 1974, we didn’t win a game; and in 2010, we never quite recovered from a 4-0 walloping from Germany in the opening game although we did manage to win our final game against Serbia, 2-1.
How will Australia go?
It’s fair to say that many expert commentators, both at home and abroad, have low expectations of Australia. That’s also the official line coming out of Football Federation Australia.
In the eight months since the new Socceroos coach, Ange Postecoglou, has been in the job, key older players have resigned from international competition (think Mark Schwarzer, Harry Kewell, Brett Holman, Brett Emerton), while others have just not been selected – most notably the former captain, Lucas Neill.
The view is that Australia has a young team – deliberately so to help build for the next big tournament to be played here at home, the 2015 Asian Cup in January – and that this is a fantastic development opportunity.
On this reckoning, the objective is to be as competitive as possible and not get a hiding like we did four years ago – and, football being what it is, anything can happen in a 90-minute game. There are numerous examples of this in football folklore from around the world, and Australia has certainly been on the ‘wrong end’ in the past.
On our side, we have youth, fitness, hunger and absolutely nothing to lose.
There are others who are critical of some of the choices made by Postecoglou. There will always be differences of opinion on issues such as this, but the loudest critics are those who have played the game professionally and at a high level for more than a decade.
Their view is that Australia’s defence is young and inexperienced; there is no real strike-force upfront; and that, while he is a talisman who is almost universally loved, Tim Cahill doesn’t really fit in to what is considered to be Postecoglou’s preferred style of play known as ‘tika taka’ which is based on a short passing game with plenty of movement around and off the ball.
What’s our view?
All of the above is correct.
We have defensive weaknesses; we have attacking weaknesses; but the capacity of the young players to run like a kelpie all day may be helpful; and anything can happen in a 90-minute game.
The key to how we fare may well rest with two key players – captain Mile Jedinak (who is also captain of Crystal Palace in the English Premier League) and one of the rare veterans of 2006 and 2010, Mark Bresciano.
Fast facts about the Socceroos
- World ranking: 62
- Coach: Ange Postecoglou
- Captain: Mile Jedinak (pronounced Mill-ay Yedd-in-ak), 29, midfielder (club: Crystal Palace, EPL)
- Star player: Tim Cahill, 34, forward/attacking midfielder (club: New York Red Bulls)
- Who to watch out for: Tommy Oar, 22, midfielder (club: Utrecht, Netherlands) and Mat Ryan, 22, goalkeeper (club: Club Brugge, Belgium). They're both doing well in lower international leagues and the World Cup is a great shop window. It's time for them to shine - not least because they should still be around in 2018, 2022 and, in Ryan's case, perhaps also 2026.
- Style of play: still evolving under Postecoglou but his preferred style is to emulate Spain’s ‘tika taka’
The Socceroos at their Brazil base in Vitoria with coach, Ange Postecoglou
Need-to-know about our opponents
Chile
We play them 8am, Saturday 14 June AEST, in Cuiaba
- World ranking: 14
- Coach: Jorge Sapaoli (Argentina)
- Captain: Claudio Bravo, 31, goalkeeper (club: Real Sociedad, Spain)
- Star player: Alexis Sanchez, 25, winger, (club: Barcelona, Spain)
- Who to watch out for: Mauricio Isla, 25, defender (club: Juventus, Italy). Midfielder Arturo Vidal, who also plays with Juventus, is likely to miss the match against the Socceroos due to injury
- Style of play: You attack us, we attack you. Chile is capable of scoring a lot of goals - but they concede a lot too.
Alexis Sanchez
Netherlands (or Holland)
We play them 2am, Thursday 19 June AEST, Porto Alegre
- World ranking: 15
- Coach: Louis Van Gaal (also the next Manchester United coach)
- Captain: Robin van Persie, 30, striker (club: Manchester United, EPL)
- Star player: Arjen Robben, 30, winger (club: Bayern Munich, Germany)
- Who to watch out for: Stefan de Vrij, 22, defender (club: Feyenoord, Netherlands)
- Style of play: Free-flowing who are capable of rotating positions and moving effortlessly around the park.
Arjen Robben in a match against Japan
Spain
We play them 2am, Tuesday 24 June AEST, Curitiba
- World ranking: 1
- Coach: Vicente del Bosque
- Captain: Iker Cassilas, 32, goalkeeper (club: Real Madrid)
- Star player: it’s difficult to pick one … Andres Iniesta, 30, midfielder (club: Barcelona)
- Who to watch out for: again, difficult to pick … Jordi Alba, 25, defender (club: Barcelona). But also keep an eye out for one of their veterans, David Villa, who will be playing for Melbourne City in the A-League for the first 10 games of next season starting in October
- Style of play: Spain, via Barcelona, redefined the ‘beautiful game’ into the ultimate ‘tika taka’ style. Possession is their weapon and they not only know how to obtain it and retain it – but they know what to do with it also.
Andres Iniesta
Our tips
- The head says it will be a Brazil v Spain Final, with Spain to win.
- Golden Ball Award (outstanding player of the tournament): Lionel Messi (Argentina and Barcelona). At age 27, this is his time.
Lionel Messi, Argentina
Where can you find out more?
Keep up-to-date with everything on the World Cup via our special World Cup site – www.worldcup.footballtoday.com.au with news, views & opinions from around the world.
Or if you want an Australian perspective and news only, make www.footballtoday.com.au the place to visit. Both sites are mobile and tablet enabled so you can keep informed on the go and while you’re chatting around the water cooler at work!
Final word
#GOSOCCEROOS
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And if you get really hooked over the next few weeks, Football Today has a competition to win 1-of-12 DVDs or blu-ray discs of football's World Stars. More information here. If nothing else, it might be a good Father's Day gift?
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