After a nervy couple of months, the news that all football fans in Australia would have been wishing for has finally come true. The national side has managed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Aussies certainly did things the hard way to book their spot in Qatar. The nation will certainly demand that they bring their A-game to the competition later this year. What chance does Australia have of making it out of the group stages, and how have they performed in recent editions of the competition?
How Australia Qualified For The World Cup
Australia’s World Cup hopes looked to be going very well in the second round of qualification for the World Cup, as they managed to top Group B. During their run to topping that group, the Socceroos won all eight games, scoring 28 goals and conceding just twice. However, they would have always been aware that bigger tests were to come.
Ultimately, Australia didn’t have the quality in the third round, as they stuttered into third place in the Group B standings, finishing seven points behind Japan, and eight points behind Saudi Arabia. The Aussies managed to sneak into the fourth round after finishing a point clear of the UAE. The Socceroos then managed to raise their level for the fourth round, as they earned their spot in the inter-confederation playoff with a 2-1 success against the UAE in Doha.
Still, Australia were the outsiders in the betting in the playoff, as they came up against South American nation Peru. After a goalless 120 minutes, the match went to a penalty shootout, where Australia managed to get the rub of the green to progress 5-4 from the spot.
Who Will Australia Face At The World Cup?
The 2022 World Cup finally gets underway at the end of November, as Qatar hosts the competition for the first time in its history. The draw for the World Cup was made prior to Australia’s clash against Peru, which means that they already knew which nations that they could come up against if they qualified for the competition.
On paper, it looks like an extremely difficult challenge awaiting Australia, as they clash with reigning world champions France on matchday one. Following that fixture, the Aussies square off against Tunisia, who impressed throughout African qualification for the World Cup. The final game in Group D comes as Australia take on Denmark, who reached the semi-finals at EURO 2020 last summer. It looks like an extremely tall order for the Aussies to make it out of the group, but a positive result on matchday one could see them build confidence.
How To Watch World Cup Matches?
The eyes of the world will be on Qatar over the winter months, as the World Cup finally gets underway. That will be no different in Australia, as fans will be tuning in to see how the national side is able to compete against some of the best teams on the planet. Aussies will be able to watch fixtures throughout the World Cup on Network 10, Paramount+, and 10 Play.
However, there will be an alternative way to watch available. Customers at leading Australian sportsbooks will be able to watch live streams of all fixtures throughout the World Cup. On these sites, bets can also be placed pre-game and in-play, with some of the best odds available.
Australia’s History At The World Cup
This is the fourth straight World Cup that Australia has managed to qualify for. Before 2006, Australia’s only previous appearance at the competition came in 1974, as the side failed to win in three group stage fixtures as they were knocked out at the first hurdle. The Aussies’ return to the competition was a memorable occasion in 2006, and the side really raised their game to focal support from fans.
At that World Cup, Australia won their first ever fixture at the competition, and managed to make it through to the round of 16 for the first time ever. That remains the nation’s best performance at the competition, but they were ultimately knocked out by Italy, who would go on to win the competition.
Australia managed to qualify for the following World Cup, but despite victory against Serbia, they were eliminated at the group stage. That victory against Serbia remains the last achieved by the national side, as they failed to win a single group game in either the 2014 World Cup or 2018 World Cup. That will be something that the team will be looking to change in Qatar.
