While today is the 10th anniversary of Australia’s 2006 World Cup qualification, this month also marks 50 years since our participation in the journey towards football’s biggest tournament commenced.
In October 1965, Australia took the field against North Korea for the first competitive game from a team that became known as the Socceroos. A squad made up of players based in state competition, many of them recent immigrants, took the field two years after the country’s re-admittance to FIFA in 1963. Although not a member of the AFC, it was in Asia where Australia competed in World Cup qualifying (along with New Zealand) up until the 1982 qualifiers.
From 1985 until 2005, Australia laboured in the Oceania qualifying zone and were then faced with playoffs against teams from other zones – sometimes from Asia, other times Europe, CONCACAF and South America. For many fans, this qualifying path was perceived as unfair and profoundly disadvantageous to the national team, although the management of the game in Australia over the decades did not help matters. Yet the Socceroos proved to be extremely unlucky on some occasions and simply not good enough in other instances. For all that, the burgeoning footballing nation was rarely disgraced against credible opposition.
1966 Campaign
The story of the Socceroos’ first qualifying campaign, in November 1965, dates back to the decision by FIFA to award a shared World Cup place for Asia and Africa. While this was an improvement on the previous campaign, whereby Asian and African sides were required to playoff with a European country for a place, it was deemed inadequate, leading to mass withdrawals prior to the qualifying campaign taking place. Two nations from outside Europe, Syria and Israel, were allocated to the European qualifying zone, with Syria withdrawing.
The only two countries which did not walk out were Australia and North Korea. And so it was in November 1965 that in “neutral” Pnom Penh in Cambodia, Australia were to face North Korea in a two-game playoff for the right to participate in the 1966 World Cup in England. All told, Australia’s first foray into international football was not a success, with 6-1 and 3-1 defeats to North Korea. This may have been taken as an indication that the game was not only struggling for greater acceptance, but also lagging behind much of the world in the international arena. Fortunately this was not to be in later years. Few imagined then how North Korea was to perform in England in 1966.
1970 Campaign
For 1970, FIFA had decided to give the Asian and African zones one direct qualifying place each, along with a second CONCACAF place made necessary by hosting the tournament in Mexico. It was a sign of things to come, as more teams from outside Europe and South America would be allocated places with successive expansions of the tournament. Australia were drawn in a three-team group against Japan and South Korea with all matches held in Seoul. After topping the group with two wins and two draws, this was followed by two-legged play-offs against state Rhodesia in Mozambique and finally Israel, who would provide semi-regular opposition to Australia in 1970s friendlies and further World Cup qualifying campaigns.
The matches against Rhodesia were drawn, requiring a third game which Australia won 3-1. Israel, who had overcome New Zealand and were in fact gaining in international stature, provided the final hurdle which Australia could not overcome, although they were by no means disgraced with a 1-0 defeat in Ramat Gan and a 1-1 draw in Sydney. As it was four years earlier, Australia were beaten by quality opposition, but this time the margin was narrower and this was a measure of progress.
1974 Campaign
The qualifying format was unaltered, with Asia, Africa and CONCACAF each getting a direct qualifying place. The first stage was a group including New Zealand, Iraq and Indonesia. Australia came through this group undefeated with all matches played in either Sydney, Melbourne or Auckland. They were then required to playoff against Iran, where the first match in Sydney was won 3-0, while a 2-0 defeat in Tehran ensured the Socceroos scraped through.
The final playoff saw Australia take on South Korea. A scoreless draw in Sydney was ostensibly a setback, but in Seoul a 2-2 draw was gained – today that would have meant qualification, but back then FIFA did not universally apply the away goals rule for qualifiers and in this case another meeting on neutral ground was required. Hong Kong was the venue and the score 1-0 to Australia thanks to Jimmy Mackay. At the third attempt, Australia with a team entirely composed of home-based part-time players, had reached a World Cup tournament. It is worth noting that South Korea already had future star Cha Bum Kun playing for them at this time. With the excitement generated also came the realisation that Australia – along with most other teams outside of Europe and South America- would carry the “minnow” tag. It would be a daunting task for Rale Rasic and his side, as it would be for other qualifiers such as Haiti and Zaire (aka DR Congo).
The draw placed Australia in Group A with host nation and favourites West Germany, first time qualifiers East Germany, and 1962 hosts Chile. The soccer public back home buzzed with excitement, but little was expected of Australia. The team included players such as Jack Reilly between the posts, Peter Wilson and Col Curran in defence; Jim Rooney, Ray Richards and Jimmy Mackay in midfield, while Johnny Warren and Adrian Alston lead the attack.
The first game in Hamburg saw East Germany win their first World Cup game 2-0, both goals coming in the second-half. The second game was also in Hamburg, this time against East Germany, resulting in a 3-0 defeat. The final showing of the tournament for Australia resulted in a 0-0 draw with Chile. They were best performed of the three “makeweight” teams in 1974 and given the group contained the hosts and eventual winners of the tournament, it was no shame. Zaire suffered one of the biggest defeats in the tournament’s history, whereas Haiti also lost all its games, but not before giving Italy a major scare in their first outing. Australia placed 14 out of 16 teams, and their brave displays won them no few friends. Alston would move to Luton Town following the campaign, where he would see First Division action.
1978 Campaign
The NSL had commenced an new era for the sport in Australia, being one of the country’s first genuinely national club competitions. It would supply much of the national team through the next decade, until players began to seek opportunities overseas in greater numbers, as part of a global trend.
Jim Shoulder had taken over as coach and many of the 1974 squad were still playing in this campaign, along with new blood including John Kosmina. The same qualifying format as the previous two World Cups was retained, as Australia faced New Zealand and Taiwan in the first group games, going through undefeated.
The second stage, however, saw stiffer opposition. The other sides in the group were Iran, Kuwait, South Korea and Hong Kong. It proved to be a major disappointment for Australia, losing both home and away to Kuwait and Iran, and finishing fourth in the group overall. On this occasion, the Socceroos were not as up to it as they had been four years earlier, although Iran were by no means a shabby side and managed a draw against Scotland in Argentina.
1982 Campaign
FIFA made the decision to expand the World Cup from 16 to 24 teams, with Asia, Africa and CONCACAF now given two direct places each in the hope that it would foster the development of football in those regions. This would be the last campaign in which Oceania teams competed in Asian World Cup qualifiers, and thus Australia’s last World Cup qualifiers in Asia until 2008.
The team was now under the management of Rudi Gutendorf, who coached MSV Duisburg to second in the Bundesliga during 1964 and would coach numerous club and national teams spanning over four decades. In 1980, Australia hosted England and Northern Ireland in friendlies ahead of qualifying and one of the last remaining players from the 1974 team, Jimmy Rooney, would play his final international game. Young talents like David Mitchell, Alan Davidson and Eddie Krncevic would complement the already established John Kosmina.
Australia would finish second in a group that included New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan and Fiji. After a 3-3 draw away, the Socceroos were beaten by the All Whites 2-0 at home in the next game, followed by the resignation of Rudi Guttendorf. Veteran Les Scheinflug took over as coach and Australia would win the next four games, including a 10-0 win over Fiji in which Gary Cole scored seven goals and Mitchell got a hat-trick (New Zealand would beat Fiji 13-0 for good measure). However, Australia then suffered the embarrassment of losing 1-0 to Indonesia and drawing 0-0 to Taiwan, ultimately finishing behind the Kiwis. It was the Soccceroos’ least successful qualifying campaign to date.
New Zealand would go on to qualify from Asia behind Kuwait, beating China in a playoff. While Kuwait gave a good account of themselves in Spain by drawing with Czechoslovakia and losing narrowly to England, New Zealand would be in a very tough group featuring Scotland, Brazil and the Soviet Union, but managed to score two ultimately decisive goals against Scotland in a 5-2 loss.
Look out for parts two and three of David’s retrospective to appear on Outside90 later today.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
