Australia national football (soccer) team
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{{Infobox National football team
| Name = Australia |
| Badge = FootballFederationAustralia-logo.png
| FIFA Trigramme = AUS
| FIFA Rank = 40
| FIFA max = 33
| FIFA max date = July 1997
| FIFA min = 92
| FIFA min date = June 2000
| Elo Rank = 40
| Elo max = 9
| Elo max date = November 2001
| Elo min = 75
| Elo min date = November 1965
| Nickname = Socceroos
| Association = [[Football Federation Australia]]
| Confederation = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]
| Coach = {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Pim Verbeek]]
| Captain = [[Harry Kewell]]
| Most caps = [[Alex Tobin]] (87)
| Top scorer = [[Damian Mori]] (29)
| Home Stadiums = [[ANZ Stadium]]<br>[[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]<br>[[Suncorp Stadium]]<br>[[Sydney Football Stadium]]<br>[[Telstra Dome]]
| National League = [[A-League]]
| pattern_la1=_footaush06|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=_footaush06
| leftarm1=FFD700|body1=FFBF00|rightarm1=FFD700|shorts1=177245|socks1=FFD700
| pattern_la2=_footausa06|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=_footausa06
| leftarm2=000960|body2=000063|rightarm2=000078|shorts2=000060|socks2=000060
| First game = {{fb|New Zealand}} 3 - 1 {{fb-rt|Australia}}<br />([[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]; [[June 17]] [[1922]])
| Largest win = {{fb|Australia}} [[Australia 31 - 0 American Samoa|31 - 0]] {{fb-rt|American Samoa}}<br />([[Coffs Harbour, New South Wales|Coffs Harbour]], [[Australia]]; [[April 11]] [[2001]])<br><small>(World Record international score)</small>
| Largest loss = {{fb|Australia}} 0 - 8 {{fb-rt|South Africa|1928}}<br />([[Adelaide]], [[Australia]]; [[September 17]] [[1955]])
| Largest loss (Unofficial Friendly) = {{fb|Finland}} 1 - 0 {{fb-rt|Australia}} <br /> ([[smellsinki]], [[Finland]]; [[September 21]] [[1960]])
| World cup apps = 2
| World cup first = 1974
| World cup best = Round of 16, [[FIFA World Cup 2006|2006]]
| Regional name = [[AFC Asian Cup]]
| Regional cup apps = 1
| Regional cup first = [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007]]
| Regional cup best = Quarterfinals 2007
| 2ndRegional name = [[OFC Nations Cup]]
| 2ndRegional cup apps = 6
| 2ndRegional cup first = [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]]
| 2ndRegional cup best = Winners - [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]], [[1996 OFC Nations Cup|1996]], <br>[[2000 OFC Nations Cup|2000]], [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|2004]]
| Confederations cup apps = 3
| Confederations cup first = 1997
| Confederations cup best = 2nd, ([[Confederations Cup 1997|1997]])
}}
The '''Australian national football team''' represents [[Australia]] in international [[Association football|association football ]] competitions. Its official nickname is "the '''Socceroos'''". The team is controlled by [[Football Federation Australia]] (FFA), which is currently a member of the [[Asian Football Confederation]] and has had an invitation to join the [[ASEAN Football Federation]] since 2006 (Australia's Youth teams play in the ASEAN Youth Tournments). Australia is a four time [[Oceania Football Confederation]] champion and has been represented at two [[World Cup Finals#Final tournament|World Cup finals tournaments]], in [[1974]] and [[2006]].The Australian National Football team is currently ranked 40th by FIFA, and 40th by the Elo Ratings.
==History==
{{recentism|date=June 2008}}
The first Australian national team was constituted in 1922 for a tour of New Zealand. During that tour, Australia suffered two defeats and scraped a draw. Australia, [[New Zealand national football team|New Zealand]], [[China national football team|China]] and [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]] became regular opponents in "Test" or "Friendly" matches for the next 25 years. With the advent of cheap air travel, Australia diversified its range of opponents. However, its geographical isolation continued to play a role in its destiny for the next 80 years. During that time there has been ongoing degradation of the sport by a concentrated [[Australian media]][http://edmundoe.tripod.com/index.htm].
==Home Stadiums==
Australia plays their home game all around the country, but most of their games are played at [[ANZ Stadium]], [[Sydney Football Stadium]] and [[Telstra Dome]]. These are usually listed as Australia's home stadiums. Many very important games are sometimes played at the [[MCG]], usually once a year.
==Early World Cup campaigns==
The [[Australia]]n national team first played at the World Cup finals in West Germany in [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/team/profile.html?team=AUS|title=Team Profile|publisher=[[FIFA]]|date=[[2001]]}}</ref>. It would prove to be their only appearance until [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]].
The road to the 1974 World Cup began with a series of home and away matches against [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[New Zealand national football team|New Zealand]], and [[Indonesia national football team|Indonesia]]. The Socceroos, having won this tournament, then played and won a two-legged fixture against one of the Socceroos' biggest rivals [[Iran national football team|Iran]], managing to hold on to a slim overall lead in front of 120,000 Iranian fans in the [[Azadi Stadium]], Tehran, during the second leg<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ak-tsc.de/quali-en.htm|title=The Socceroos World Cup Qualification}}</ref>. [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]], having itself knocked out [[Israel national football team|Israel]] at the equivalent stage, was then drawn as Australia's final hurdle. Over the course of another two-legged playoff the scores remained even, and so a deciding match was played in Hong Kong, where [[Jimmy Mackay]] scored the only goal for Australia from a free kick.
The team performed with honour at the 1974 World Cup, and although unable to overcome the professional teams from host nations [[East Germany national football team|East]] and [[West Germany national football team|West]] Germany, the Socceroos, captained by local amateur [[Peter Wilson]], did manage a scoreless draw against [[Chile national football team|Chile]]. It was to be the last appearance for the Australian team until the World Cup tournament returned to [[Germany]] more than three decades later. Over that 32 year time span, the Australian team was known for its near misses in its attempts to qualify for the [[Football World Cup|World Cup]], most notably [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]] against Iran and [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]] against Uruguay.
===USA 1994 qualifying campaign===
Australia's road to [[1994 FIFA World Cup|USA 94]] is an example of the difficult qualifying path which members of the Oceania confederation have had to endure. In order to qualify for USA 94, Australia had to endure 3 playoff stages. The first stage was the Oceania playoff. Australia finished on top of Group 1 in Oceania going undefeated in four games against weaker sides Tahiti and the Solomon Islands and scoring thirteen goals over the four games. Australia played New Zealand in the Oceania playoff. The first leg was played in [[New Zealand]] on [[May 30]], 1993, with Australia winning the game 1-0. Australia won the return leg 3-0 to win the playoff stage with a 4-0 aggregate score. Having won the Oceania playoff, Australia now had to win a 2-leg playoff against Canada, the [[CONCACAF]] runner up. The first leg was played in [[Canada]] on [[July 31]], 1993, with the Canadians winning the 1st leg 2-1. In the second leg, which was played on [[August 15]], 1993 in [[Sydney]], Australia managed a 2-1 win which saw the game go into extra time after a 3-3 aggregate scoreline. The game went into a penalty shootout which was won by Australia 4-1. Australia then qualified for the 2-leg playoff against the South American group 1 runner up, Argentina. The first leg was played in Sydney on [[October 31]], 1993. The 1st leg ended with a 1-1 draw. On [[November 17]] 1993, the second leg was played in [[Argentina]], with Argentina winning 1-0 and denying Australia a place at the 1994 World Cup in the [[United States]]. After the game Argentine legend [[Diego Maradona]] was so impressed with the Socceroos performance that he said to then captain Paul Wade "Your tears of pain, will one day be tears of joy". Just to qualify for the 1994 World Cup Australia would have had to beat Argentina, the runners-up from the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990 World Cup]], and ranked [http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statistics/index/0,2548,All-Nov-1993,00.html 9th] in the world at that time.
===France 1998 qualifying campaign===
In 1997, after winning the [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]] [[1998 FIFA World Cup (qualification OFC)|qualifying tournament]], Australia had to play [[Iran national football team|Iran]] over two legs in one week, with the winner progressing to the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|World Cup finals]] to be held in [[France]]. Australia, under coach [[Terry Venables]], tied the away leg 1-1 and looked like they were going to proceed to the finals in France, initially leading 2-0 in the home game in [[Melbourne]], until Iran managed to score two late goals. This match has been named one of the most memorable matches by many of the retired Australian and Iranian football players. The atmosphere at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]] after the game was described as "like that of a graveyard" by many fans - At the time the crowd that packed the MCG was the highest ever for a football match in Australia, and after being very confident of progressing to the [[FIFA World Cup]] with only 30 minutes to go - suddenly being eliminated was devastating. [[Harry Kewell]], who would become possibly the greatest Socceroo of all announced his arrival in this tie, with goals in both the away and home legs.
===Korea/Japan 2002 qualifying campaign===
In 2001 Australia again won the [[2002 FIFA World Cup (qualification OFC)|Oceania Confederation qualifying tournament]] for [[2002 FIFA World Cup]]. Second and third-string lineups thrashed a number of tiny island nations in a competition that made a mockery of the Confederation, including a world-record 22-0 win against [[Tonga national football team|Tonga]], then smashed that record with a 31-0 demolition of [[American Samoa national football team|American Samoa]] days later. Still missing [[Harry Kewell]] and [[Mark Viduka]], Australia comfortably beat [[New Zealand national football team|New Zealand]], their only real threat in the Oceania confederation. Australia then once again had to win a two leg playoff in November, in order to advance to the World Cup finals to be held in [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]].
On this occasion the opposition was the 5th placed South American team, [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]]. In the preceding four months Uruguay's preparation had been [[2002 FIFA World Cup (qualification CONMEBOL)|six World Cup qualifying matches]], as follows: beat #2 ranked Brazil 1:0; drew 1:1 with #8 ranked Colombia; drew 1:1 with #2 ranked Argentina. In contrast, Australia's preparation had included no qualifying games since two matches in 4 days in June, against #81 ranked New Zealand, although had played two friendly matches - a loss to Japan in August and a 1:1 draw with France in November.
In the first leg in Melbourne, Australia won 1-0 after [[Kevin Muscat]] scored from a [[penalty kick (football)|penalty kick]]; however, Australia's qualification campaign ended unsuccessfully as they lost 3-0 in the away leg in [[Montevideo]] just five days later with the South Americans proving too strong.
===Outside qualification campaigns===
The team's previously miserable record in World Cup competition was not reflected in their reasonable performances against strong European and South American sides, with victories in the [[2001 FIFA Confederations Cup|2001 Confederations Cup]] against [[France national football team|France]] and [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]. Australia finished the competition in 3rd place after a 3rd place play-off win against Brazil.
Australia also drew with France 1-1 in [[Melbourne]] in November 2001. A particular highlight for Australian football, and the one that attracted most public attention, was the 3-1 victory over traditional sporting rivals [[England national football team|England]] in a friendly in [[London]] in 2003.
===Germany 2006 qualifying campaign===
In 2004, the team took the first steps towards qualification for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] by topping the round-robin stage of the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)|Oceania Football Confederation World Cup qualification tournament]]. The team drew 2-2 with the [[Solomon Islands national football team|Solomon Islands]], which combined with other results put that team ahead of New Zealand in the standings and meaning that the Solomon Islands qualified for the final playoff rather than the expected New Zealand.
[[Image:Confed-Cup 2005 Eröffnungsspiel (Freistoß Australien).JPG|left|thumb|Australia faces [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup]]]]
Coach [[Frank Farina]] stood down from the position by "mutual consent" on [[June 29]], 2005 after Australia failed to win a game at the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|2005 Confederations Cup]], citing ever increasing speculation over his position. On [[July 22]], [[Guus Hiddink]] was announced by FFA as the new national coach. This announcement came after intense speculation by the Australian media over potential candidates and even a premature announcement from Hiddink himself. Hiddink combined his roles as manager of Dutch club [[PSV Eindhoven]] with that of Australia, and remained the coach of Australia until the end of the Australian team's 2006 World Cup campaign, after which he accepted a position coaching [[Russian national football team|Russia]].
After some initial training sessions with the Australian team in the Netherlands, his first campaign as national coach resulted in a 9-1 aggregate win over the Solomon Islands in the OFC Qualifying Tournament Final. The remaining task for Hiddink and Australia was the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (play-off CONMEBOL-OFC)|Oceania-South America playoff]] against the fifth placed team from the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|CONMEBOL Qualifying Tournament]] for a place in the World Cup.
In October 2005, Australia beat [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]] 5-0 in a friendly in London. The win was the Socceroos' biggest win against a team ranked higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings list and also Australia's biggest win against a country which has participated in the World Cup.
Australia, ranked #49, then moved on to play 18th ranked [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] in a rematch of the qualifying matches in 2001. Again, there was a huge contrast in preparation. Australia had only two recent qualifying matches, against #138 Solomon Islands, only three days apart. Uruguay's preparation had included four qualifying matches, in the previous two months, including: beaten #26 Colombia, drawn with #33 Ecuador, and beaten #4 Argentina.
Fearing a repeat of security problems which occurred in Montevideo in 2001, Australia announced that they would hold their training sessions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and would only stay in Montevideo for the game. Uruguay called for the first leg to be moved a day earlier, to [[November 11]]. This idea was rejected by Australia. As a result, Uruguay had announced that they had moved the kick off time back five hours to 9:00 p.m. local time on [[November 12]]. This meant that Australia would miss their direct flight back to Sydney for the second leg. This would also mean that Uruguay would have an extra day of preparation for the second leg.
However, this plan backfired on the Uruguayans. Their plans to charter a plane for a direct flight to Sydney fell through (they ended up flying over in "economy" class seating on a regular commercial flight). When Uruguay asked to move the kickoff back, Australia, which by that time had arranged, with their sponsor [[Qantas]], a specially fitted out 747 (which included massage tables, and much room and space) for immediately after the game, refused. Eventually, FIFA stepped in and ordered the kickoff moved back to 6:00 p.m. local time.
[[Image:AUS-URU Nov 05 ET.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Australia playing [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] at [[ANZ Stadium]](formerly Telstra Stadium) in 2005; the match is in the second period of extra time.]]
Uruguay defeated Australia 1-0 in Montevideo on [[November 12]], 2005, after a header from [[Dario Rodriguez]]. Australia had the better of their Uruguayan opponents for a lot of the match, but they could not capitalise on their opportunities. In Sydney, on [[November 16]] for the second leg of the qualifying series and in front of 83,000 fans at [[Telstra Stadium]], and 3.4 million more watching the televised broadcast, and an estimated 4 million more watching in pubs and clubs, Australia led Uruguay 1-0 after 90 minutes following a goal by [[Mark Bresciano]] in the first half. The aggregate was tied, and extra time was played. Neither team scored after two periods of extra time, bringing the game to a penalty shootout. Australia [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (play-off CONMEBOL-OFC)|won the penalty shootout]] 4-2, making Australia the only team to ever qualify for a World Cup via a penalty shootout. Australian [[goalkeeper]] [[Mark Schwarzer]] made two saves and [[John Aloisi]] scored the winning penalty.
The resulting win led to scenes of wild jubilation across the country, as fans rejoiced at the Socceroos qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, their first qualification in 32 years.
Germany were also the hosts the last time Australia qualified for the World Cup back in 1974.
Immediately after that qualification, Australia went into the 2006 World Cup as the second lowest-ranked side. Their ranking on the FIFA World Rankings improved in subsequent months, leapfrogging other qualified countries.
===Acceptance into the AFC===
Many commentators and fans felt that the only way for Australia to progress was to abandon the [[Oceania Football Confederation]]. Football had developed over time to place increasing importance on tournaments rather than friendly matches. This established the Continental championships and their qualifiers as the major source of competitive matches for national teams. This served to starve Australia of potential opponents and resulted in long gaps between fixtures for the national team.
The late [[Johnny Warren]], a respected football broadcaster and former Socceroos captain, expressed his desire for Australia to join Asia. Despite previous attempts to do so, each notoriously ending in failure, a story was leaked from [[Tokyo]] in March 2005 suggesting that FFA had entered into secret discussions with the AFC on this very issue. On [[March 23]], the AFC Executive Committee made a unanimous decision to invite Australia to join the [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]].
AFC President, [[Mohammed Bin Hammam]], outlined reasons for this decision.
:''As well as being a developed football nation, Australia brings a developed economy and this is actually what we want in football. Besides Japan, Korea, China and Saudi Arabia if Australia joins the benefits are huge, this is what we're after.''
On [[April 17]], the OFC executive committee unanimously endorsed Australia's proposed move. FIFA approved the move on [[June 30]], and it took effect on [[January 1]], 2006. Earlier, on [[December 1]], the AFC Executive Committee announced that Australia will be put into the [[ASEAN]] zone. Currently, Australia is an invitee member of [[ASEAN Football Federation]].
Australia was duly entered into the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification]] which began in 2006. On [[January 4]], Australia was drawn into group D, alongside [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]], [[Lebanon national football team|Lebanon]] and [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]]. Lebanon later withdrew due to [[2006 Lebanon War|recent military conflict]] in the area. Australia's first game as a member of the [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] was on [[February 22]], a 3-1 win away to [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]] in the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification]]. They subsequently qualified for the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|finals]] on [[August 16]] after defeating [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]] 2-0 in [[Sydney]].
===Preparation for Germany 2006===
Australia was placed into [[2006 FIFA World Cup - Group F|2006 World Cup Group F]], along with defending champions [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]] and [[Japan national football team|Japan]].
In late December 2005, Coach [[Guus Hiddink]] appointed former Dutch player, [[Johan Neeskens]], as Assistant Coach, to work alongside Graham Arnold, Ron Smith, Tony Franken and Anthony Crea.
On [[13 February]] 2006, Australia launched a new home and away strip for the World Cup. The home strip, similar to the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]] outfit, is an entirely yellow shirt with green shorts. The away strip is entirely obsidian blue with yellow trimmings (the heraldic colours of Australia). The jerseys were launched at a lavish ceremony at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in [[Berlin]]. On [[17 March]] 2006, the FIFA World Cup trophy visited [[Sydney]] on its tour around the world.
In preparation for the upcoming World Cup, Socceroos player [[Tony Vidmar]] was ruled out of the World Cup after being diagnosed with a heart condition. In all, the squad that won the qualification matches saw 5 changes in the lead-up the World Cup finals. [[Joel Griffiths]], [[Ahmad Elrich]], [[Ljubo Milicevic]], [[Tony Vidmar]] and [[Michael Thwaite]] were replaced by [[Joshua Kennedy]], [[Mile Sterjovski]], [[Michael Beauchamp]], [[Craig Moore]] and [[Mark Milligan]] respectively.
As part of a national support effort for the Socceroos in Australia, the television network [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] put on a competition, "Song for the Socceroos", in order to select a World Cup anthem for the Socceroos.
The winning song "Green and Gold" was announced on [[16 May]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www20.sbs.com.au/asongforthesocceroos/news.php?id=17|title=We have a winner|publisher=[[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]]|date=[[16 May]][[2006]]}}</ref>.
On [[25 May]] 2006 in Melbourne, Australia played a friendly against [[Greece national football team|Greece]], current [[2004 European Football Championship|European Champions]], and ranked #20 in FIFA rankings. Australia won 1-0 thanks to a Josip Skoko volley early on in the match. The match, at the 100,000 capacity [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]], was sold out in only 2 hours,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18714991%255E11088,00.html|title=G, it's a sellout for World Cup send-off|publisher=[[Herald Sun]]|date=[[5 April]][[2006]]}}</ref> and was a great sendoff for Australia from home soil, despite the questionable quality of the Greek performance.
Australia played the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] in a friendly match in [[Rotterdam]] on [[4 June]]. The Dutch, ranked #3 in the world, went ahead in the 9th minute after goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer parried a [[Ruud van Nistelrooy]] shot, the Socceroos failed to clear the ball and van Nistelrooy scored with a follow-up strike. Australia's [[Tim Cahill]] equalised in the 53rd minute following a goal-line scramble after [[Mark Viduka]] hit the crossbar from a [[penalty kick]]. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The only blemish was the dismissal of defender [[Luke Wilkshire]] in the 61st minute, after a wild challenge on [[Giovanni van Bronckhorst]]. The next day, the Socceroos left for Germany.
Australia played a final pre-World Cup friendly against 123rd-ranked [[Liechtenstein national football team|Liechtenstein]] on [[7 June]]. Defender [[Lucas Neill]] headed an [[own goal]] in the 8th minute, giving Liechtenstein the lead until [[Mile Sterjovski]] equalised in the 20th. Australia struggled to gain a lead on their opponents until the final 15 minutes when a goal each from [[Joshua Kennedy]] and [[John Aloisi]] won Australia the game 3-1.
===Germany 2006===
While in [[Germany]] for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]], the Socceroos stayed in the town of [[Öhringen]]. Just days before Australia's first World Cup match against [[Japan national football team|Japan]], it was reported in the west that the [[Japan Football Association]] chairman claimed the Socceroos were "guilty of a lot of dirty fouls" and that "they target ankles in particular." <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200606/s1660451.htm|title=Hiddink dismisses dirty Roos claims|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]|date=[[11 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> However, a further scrutiny of the original Japanese script reveals that there was a misinterpretation by the western media, possibly to spice up the competition. While it is unclear who started this mistranslation, deliberately or otherwise, Saburo Kawabuchi of [[Japan Football Association]] later commented that this would not be the first or the last time mistranslation happens and should not be taken too seriously.
On [[12 June]], the Socceroos defeated Japan 3-1 in their opening game in [[Kaiserslautern]], with [[Tim Cahill]] scoring two goals (84', 89') and [[John Aloisi]] scoring one (92+') in the last eight minutes to claim their first World Cup finals victory. An early controversial call by Egyptian referee [[Essam Abd El Fatah]], that awarded a goal (26') to [[Shunsuke Nakamura]], despite an apparent foul<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19454534-2,00.html|title=Key moments of the match|publisher=[[Australian Associated Press]]|date=[[13 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> to Australian goalkeeper [[Mark Schwarzer]], had the Australians playing catch-up until the last eight minutes. Schwarzer and Viduka claimed that Abd El Fatah apologised over allowing Nakamura's goal to stand after the incident, admitting he had made a mistake,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://worldcup.filbalad.com/english/News.asp?NewsID=24777|title=Abdul-Fattah: I did not apologize to the Aussies|publisher=FilBalad.com||date=[[13 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> although Abd El Fatah later denied making an apology and said that "FIFA's refereeing committee... agreed unanimously that Japan's goal against Australia was correct." <ref>{{cite news|url=http://worldcup.filbalad.com/english/News.asp?NewsID=24777|title=Abdul-Fattah: I did not apologize to the Aussies|publisher=FilBalad.com||date=[[13 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> Both Cahill and Aloisi came in as substitutes in the second half of the game. Their goals are the first ever scored by Australia in the World Cup Finals, and Australia became the first team in the 2006 tournament to come back after being 1-0 down. Also, no other team has scored three goals in the last seven minutes of a match in World Cup finals history<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4852706.stm|title=Australia 3-1 Japan|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|date=[[12 June]][[2006]]}}</ref>.
On [[18 June]], hours before Australia's second game against world champions Brazil, a British newspaper claimed that several Australian players had placed bets amongst themselves, which was said to be against [[FIFA]] regulations <ref>{{cite news |url = http://home.skysports.com/worldcup/article.aspx?hlid=395972&CPID=4&clid=575&lid=4161&title=Aussies+could+face+betting+probe|title = Aussies could face betting probe|publisher = [[Sky Sports]]|date=[[18 June]] [[2006]]}}</ref>. Tim Cahill admitted that teammates [[Lucas Neill]] and [[Archie Thompson]] bet that Cahill would score the first ever Australian goal at the World Cup. [[Mark Viduka]] also said that the players were taking bets on who was going to be the first to score, and that goalkeeper [[Zeljko Kalac]] was the bookmaker. FIFA have since cleared all players of any wrongdoing, by interpreting their regulations as referring to betting with professional bookmakers, rather than betting within a team. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportinglife.com/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/06/06/18/WORLDCUP_FIFA_Australia.html|title=AUSSIES GET FIFA BETTING ALL-CLEAR|publisher=Sporting Life.com|date=[[18 June]][[2006]]}}</ref>
Australia met [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] in their second Group F game in [[Munich]] on [[June 18]]. The Australians held Brazil to a 0-0 half time scoreline before [[Adriano Leite Ribeiro|Adriano]] put Brazil in front (49'). Brazil substitute [[Frederico Chaves Guedes|Fred]] scored (90') with the help of substitute [[Robinho]] to give Brazil a 2-0 win, which saw the Brazilians go through to the second round.
A day later, following the Brazil game, [[Harry Kewell]] was in hot water after an altercation with the referee from the Brazil game. FIFA announced that it would investigate the incident. On [[20 June]], charges were dismissed against Kewell due to "inconsistent reporting by match officials",<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Refs-retaliation-may-have-saved-Kewell/2006/06/21/1150845220998.html|title=Ref's retaliation may have saved Kewell|publisher=[[Australian Associated Press]]|date=[[21 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> allowing him to play the next game against Croatia.
On [[22 June]], Australia faced [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]] in [[Stuttgart]]. The final score was 2-2. A goal from [[Darijo Srna]] in the second minute put Australia on the back foot. Australia equalised with a penalty goal from [[Craig Moore]] (38'). [[Niko Kovac]] gave Croatia a 2-1 lead before Australia equalised again through [[Harry Kewell]] (79') in a moment described by [[SBS]] broadcast commentator [[Simon Hill]] as "well, it had to be Harry". Kewell appeared to be offside for the goal, in a match riddled with errors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853428.stm|title=Croatia 2-2 Australia|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|date=[[22 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> The referee [[Graham Poll]] dismissed calls for a penalty in the 5th minute when Croatia's [[Josip Šimunić]] literally wrestled Mark Viduka to the ground near goal, missed one of two clear handballs by the Croatian defence in the penalty area, blew the final whistle at the moment that [[John Aloisi]] scored what would have been a winning goal, and, in an extraordinary error, presented Simunic with three yellow cards before sending him off after the final whistle. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/aussie-update/emerton-denied-explanation/2006/06/25/1151174072563.html|title=Frustrated Emerton denied an explanation|publisher=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=[[28 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> Here, Simunic is the world record holder for "Most Yellow Cards in a Football Match." Poll issued eight yellow cards resulting in three expulsions. [[Brett Emerton]] was sent off for his second bookable offence (although he was already suspended for the next match for receiving his second yellow card of the group stage earlier in the match). ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported on [[25 June]] that Graham Poll was dismissed from World Cup refereeing duties by FIFA, who claimed that his mistake was "unacceptable".
<ref> {{cite news | url=http://wc2006.telegraph.co.uk/Document.aspx?id=8C8E2B20-81D5-4697-805E-B934B40A6F4D | title=Red card for Poll after clanger | publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=[[24 June]][[2006]] }}</ref> As Brazil beat Japan 4-1, Australia proceeded to the next round to face Italy.
On [[26 June]], Australia met [[Italy national football team|Italy]] in [[Kaiserslautern]]. Kewell was unavailable for the game, entering the stadium on crutches reportedly suffering from an attack of [[gout]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,,19603291-5001021,00.html|title=Kewell was out with gout|date=[[27 June]][[2006]]|publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)]]}}</ref> and infected [[blisters]] (later diagnosed as septic arthritis). The score at half-time was 0-0. Italy went down to 10 men due to the red card (51') given to [[Marco Materazzi]]. Otherwise, six yellow cards were issued in total. Almost three minutes into stoppage time, a controversial penalty was awarded to Italy when [[Fabio Grosso]] went down under a [[Lucas Neill]] challenge in the final seconds of the match. [[Francesco Totti]] scored from the spot (95') and the game ended immediately with Australia eliminated. Coach [[Guus Hiddink]] officially ended his reign as the coach of the Socceroos following the 1-0 loss to Italy and took the managerial job with [[Russian national football team|Russia]]. Australian assistant coach [[Graham Arnold]] branded the penalty a "joke", to the agreement of several Australian players, including [[Tim Cahill]], who believed Grosso should have been cautioned for diving.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=108965|title=Italian penalty a 'joke', say Socceroos|publisher=[[NineMSN]]|date=[[28 June]][[2006]]}}</ref> Italian coach [[Marcello Lippi]] denied that Grosso had dived, describing the incident as "a clear foul".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19612353%255E2883,00.html|title=It's a fair penalty, says Italian coach Lippi|publisher=[[Herald Sun]]|date=[[28 June]][[2006]]}}</ref>. Australia became the team to go out of a World Cup with the last kick of the ball (in regular time).
===After Germany 2006 & Preparation for the 2007 Asian Cup===
Following the success of the Socceroos and [[Guus Hiddink]] at the 2006 World Cup there was much speculation as to who would be the next Australian coach. There was general agreement by Australia football commentators that the Dutch style of "total football" (an approach where individual players are trained to be able to play in almost any position providing maximum tactical adaptability) suited Australia well and that Australia should again employ a Dutch coach. In the media, several famous overseas coaches were rumoured as candidates, also knowing the preference of Australian Football Federation president Frank Lowy of wanting to secure another "big name" foreign coach over a local one. However, it was Hiddink's assistant, [[Graham Arnold]] who was appointed. But at this time, it was more or less implied that he would only coach the Socceroos in a caretaker role to the upcoming [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=10246|title=Arnold to take the reins for next two matches|date=[[21 July]][[2006]]|publisher=[[Football Federation Australia]]}}</ref> Former Socceroos and [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]] coach, [[John Kosmina]] was appointed as Arnold's assistant.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeature_press_releases_item&id=10267|title=Kosmina appointed to Qantas Socceroos|date=[[03 August]][[2006]]|publisher=[[Football Federation Australia]]}}</ref> They were both later confirmed to continue their roles until the conclusion of [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007 Asian Cup]], while the [[Football Federation Australia|FFA]] searched for Hiddink's successor to lead Socceroos for [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200611/s1787139.htm|title=Arnold's job safe until Asian Cup|date=[[13 November]][[2006]]|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21753006-5005408,00.html|title=Kosmina in from the cold|date=[[18 May]][[2007]]|publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph (Australia)]]}}</ref>
[[Image:aus kuwait web.jpg|thumb|300px|Australia vs [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]], [[2007 AFC Asian Cup]] qualifying match, [[Aussie Stadium]], [[Sydney]], [[16 August]] [[2006]].]]
After moving to [[Asian Football Federation|AFC]] in 2006, Australia entered into the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification|2007 Asian Cup qualification]]. Australia was drawn into Group D, alongside [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]], [[Lebanon national football team|Lebanon]] and [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]]. Lebanon later withdrew due to the [[2006 Lebanon War|recent military conflict]] in the area. Australia began their first [[AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] qualification campaign in February 2006, prior to the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]. In their first match, the Socceroos defeated [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]] 3-1 in [[Manama]], [[Bahrain]].
The second qualifying match took place after the World Cup. At this time, [[Guus Hiddink]] had resigned from his position as Socceroos' coach, leaving his former assistant [[Graham Arnold]] in charge. In his first match as Socceroos' coach, Arnold managed to lead the Socceroos to victory against [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]] 2-0 in [[Sydney]] with a squad composed only of [[A-League]] players. This win ensured Australia qualification for the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007 Asian Cup]].
Australia then finished their qualifying campaign as Group D winner with 3 wins and 1 defeat. Their first and only defeat in the 2007 Asian Cup qualification came on September 2006, when Kuwait defeated Australia 2-0 in [[Kuwait City]], [[Kuwait]]. Later in 2006, Australia played two friendly matches against [[Paraguay national football team|Paraguay]] and [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]] in their preparation for the 2007 Asian Cup. On [[December 19]], Australia were [[seeded]] for the 2007 Asian Cup and subsequently drawn in Group A along with [[Thailand national football team|Thailand]] (one of the co-hosts), [[Oman national football team|Oman]] and [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]].
Australia began 2007 with a friendly match against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]], where they suffered their second defeat under Arnold. However, Australia bounced back in their next match, a 2-0 win away against [[China national football team|China]]. Australia then played [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], on [[June 2]] in [[Sydney]], which was known as 'The Rematch' despite the match not being an official FIFA international. Australia lost the match 2-1 with [[Mile Sterjovski]] scoring in the 6th minute but the scores were levelled in the 40th when [[Diego Forlan]] scored. But an error by young Australian keeper, [[Brad Jones (footballer)|Brad Jones]], gave Uruguay the winner in the 77th minute.
On [[June 30]], Australia defeated [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]] 3-0 in their final match prior to the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]]. In this match, [[Harry Kewell]] returned to the Socceroos for the first time since the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]]. He marked his return by scoring a goal in between captain [[Mark Viduka]]'s brace.
===Asian Cup 2007===
Australia, led by [[Graham Arnold]], went to their first [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|Asian Cup]] sending a strong squad which included 15 players from the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] team. Australia was drawn in [[2007 AFC Asian Cup#Group A|Group A]] alongside (co-host) [[Thailand national football team|Thailand]], [[Oman national football team|Oman]] and [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]].
In their first match, Australia were only able to earn a 1-1 draw against a lower-ranked [[Oman national football team|Oman]] team. Australia played poorly, with [[Oman national football team|Oman]] leading for most of the match after [[Badar Al-Maimani]] scored in the 32nd minute, but were once again saved by [[Tim Cahill]] who scored a late equalizer in the 92nd minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Australia lost their second group match 3-1 to eventual [[Asian Cup]] winners [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], with [[Lucas Neill]] receiving a red card (90'), following two yellow cards. [[Mark Viduka]] scored the lone goal for the Australians in the 47th minute of the match which at that point in the game was the equaliser but [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]] scored another two goals to win.
In the third match of the group stage, Australia defeated [[Thailand national football team|Thailand]] 4-0 with [[Mark Viduka]] scoring two goals, with [[Michael Beauchamp]] and [[Harry Kewell]] scoring one goal each. The victory assured Australia's progression to the quarter final stage of the tournament.
After drawing 1-1 with [[Japan national football team|Japan]] after extra time, Australia exited the tournament on penalties at the quarter final stage. The first two Australian penalty kicks were both unsuccessful by [[Harry Kewell]] and [[Lucas Neill]] with Australia eventually bowing out 4-3 to end their inaugural participation in [[Asia]]'s most prestigious [[football]] tournament.
In a friendly international at the MCG on the 11th of September, 2007, the Socceroos were defeated by Argentina one goal to nil. The friendly was Graham Arnold's last game as head coach. It had been widely speculated that Dutchman Dick Advocaat would take over as Head Coach for the Socceroos 2010 World Cup Qualifiers by the end of 2007 but he backed out of a contract with the FFA to continue coaching Zenit Petersburg. It has been reported that FFA is considering legal action against both person and club. As a result the Socceroo's head coach position was left open, with technical director Rob Baan the caretaker for a match against Nigeria at Loftus Road, London (Australia winning 1-0.) The position was filled on the 6th of December 2007 when the FFA announced Pim Verbeek as the new head coach.
===South Africa 2010 qualifying campaign===
The Socceroos were seeded to enter the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|AFC qualification campaign]] in the third round alongside [[Iran national football team|Iran]], [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi Arabia]], [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] and [[Japan national football team|Japan]]. They were drawn into a group comprising of [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]] and [[China national football team|China]]. Fixtures started in February 2008, with a home match against Qatar at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne giving Australia a 3-0 victory. This was Pim Verbeek's first competitive match in charge of the Socceroos. The majority of the Australian squad consisted of overseas, mainly European based, players after Pim Verbeek announced the local A-league was not up to World Cup standards. A week after the match, Australia moved up to 38th on the [[FIFA World Rankings]].
In the second group game, Australia drew 0-0 with China with Mark Schwarzer saving a penalty in the last few minutes. In their 3rd out of 6 qualifiers on Sunday, 1 June, Australia beat Iraq at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 1-0, with a headed goal from [[Harry Kewell]] proving the difference between the two teams early in the 2nd half of play. In the return match in [[Dubai]], Iraq defeated Australia 1-0 through a wonder strike from [[Emad Mohammed]]. Australia then defeated Qatar 3-1 on [[14 June]] in [[Doha]] to progress to the fourth round of the [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] qualifiers.
Australia have been drawn alongside [[Japan national football team|Japan]], [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]], [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]] and [[Uzbekistan national football team|Uzbekistan]] in the fourth round of Asian World Cup qualification.
===Player drain to other countries===
One obstacle for the Socceroos is that some promising players end up playing for other nations. As many Australians have roots in Europe and qualify for European passports, they are eligible to play for non-Australian national teams. Examples of Australian-born players who have chosen other national teams are:
*[[Joey Didulica]] - [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]]
*[[Anthony Šerić]] - Croatia
*[[Josip Šimunić]] - Croatia
*[[Tony Dorigo]] - [[England national football team|England]]
*[[Saša Ilić (footballer born 1972)|Saša Ilić]] - [[Serbia national football team|Serbia]]
The following players were eligible to play for Australia but chose other national teams:
*[[Christian Vieri]] - [[Italy national football team|Italy]]. Born in [[Italy]], raised in Australia.
*[[Craig Johnston]] - England. Johnston was born in [[South Africa]] to Australian parents and raised in Australia. He played for England at the Under-21 level, but did not earn a senior cap.
*[[Ivan Ergić]] - Serbia. Born in then-[[Yugoslavia]], raised in Australia.
*[[Georgios Samaras]] - [[Greece national football team|Greece]]. His father was born in Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/05/23/1148150255018.html?page=fullpage|title=Star who slipped the net|publisher=[[The Age]]|date=[[24 May]][[2006]]}}</ref>
*[[Aleksandar Duric]] - Singapore. Born in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]], relocated to Australia, then moved to Singapore.
==Fixtures and results==
''[[Australian national football team results]]''.
In 2006, Australia was involved in [[2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification]] matches against [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]] and [[Kuwait national football team|Kuwait]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] matches in [[Germany]], friendly matches as preparation for [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] against [[Greece national football team|Greece]], [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] and [[Liechtenstein national football team|Liechtenstein]] and friendly matches as preparation for [[2007 AFC Asian Cup]] against [[Paraguay national football team|Paraguay]] and [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]].
{{detail|Australia national football (soccer) team season 2006}}
In 2007, Australia was involved in friendly matches as preparation for [[2007 AFC Asian Cup]] against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]], [[China national football team|China]], [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] and [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]] and [[2007 AFC Asian Cup]] matches in [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Thailand]] and [[Vietnam]].
{{detail|Australia national football (soccer) team season 2007}}
In 2008, Australia was involved in [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]] matches against [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[China national football team|China]] and [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]].
{{detail|Australia national football (soccer) team season 2008}}
==Tournament records==
===World Cup===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Year
!Result
!Pld
!W
!D
!L
!GF
!GA
|-
||{{flagicon|URU}} [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]] - {{flagicon|CHI}} [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]] || ''Did not partcipate'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|ENG}} [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]] - {{flagicon|MEX}} [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]] || ''Did not qualify '' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|FRG}} [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]] || Round 1 || 3 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 5
|-
||{{flagicon|ARG}} [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]] - {{flagicon|KOR}}{{flagicon|JPN}} [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]] || ''Did not qualify '' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|GER}} [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]] || Round 2 || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 6
|-
||'''Total''' ||2/18||7||1||2||4||5||11
|}
===Confederations Cup===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Year
!Result
!Pld
!W
!D
!L
!GF
!GA
|-
||{{flagicon|KSA}} [[1992 King Fahd Cup|1992]] || ''Did not partcipate'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|KSA}} [[1995 King Fahd Cup|1995]] || ''Did not partcipate'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|KSA}} [[1997 FIFA Confederations Cup|1997]] || Runner Up || 5 || 2 || 1 || 2 || 4 || 8
|-
||{{flagicon|MEX}} [[1999 FIFA Confederations Cup|1999]] || ''Did not qualify '' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|KOR}}{{flagicon|JPN}} [[2001 FIFA Confederations Cup|2001]] || 3rd Place || 5 || 3 || 0 || 2 || 4 || 2
|-
||{{flagicon|FRA}} [[2003 FIFA Confederations Cup|2003]] || ''Did not qualify'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|GER}} [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|2005]] || Round 1 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 5 || 10
|-
||{{flagicon|RSA}} [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|2009]] || ''Did not qualify'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||'''Total''' || ||13||5||1||7||13||20
|}
===Oceania Nations Cup===
''No longer an [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]] member.''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Year
!Result
!Pld
!W
!D
!L
!GF
!GA
|-
||{{flagicon|NZL}} [[1973 OFC Nations Cup|1973]] || ''Did not partcipate'' || – || – || – || – || – || –
|-
||{{flagicon|FRA}} [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]] || '''Winner''' || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 24 || 2
|-
||[[1996 OFC Nations Cup|1996]] || '''Winner''' || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 14 || 0
|-
||{{flagicon|AUS}} [[1998 OFC Nations Cup|1998]] || Runner Up || 4 || 3 || 0 || 1 || 23 || 3
|-
||{{flagicon|Tahiti}} [[2000 OFC Nations Cup|2000]] || '''Winner''' || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 26 || 0
|-
||{{flagicon|NZL}} [[2002 OFC Nations Cup|2002]] || Runner Up || 5 || 4 || 0 || 1 || 23 || 2
|-
||{{flagicon|AUS}} [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|2004]] || '''Winner''' || 7 || 6 || 1 || 0 || 32 || 4
|-
||'''Total'''|| ||28||24||2||2||142||11
|}
===Asian Cup===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Year
!Result
!Pld
!W
!D
!L
!GF
!GA
|-
||{{flagicon|INA}}{{flagicon|MAS}}{{flagicon|THA}}{{flagicon|VIE}} [[2007 AFC Asian Cup|2007]] ||Quarter-Final|| 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 7 || 5
|-
||'''Total'''|| || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 7 || 5
|}
==Coaches==
{| class="wikitable"
!width=300 |Name
!width=80 |Period
!width=45 |Matches
!width=45 |Wins
!width=45 |Draws
!width=45 |Losses
!width=300 |Achievements
|-
| [[Tiko Jelisavcic]]
| align="center" |1965
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 3
|
|-
| [[Joe Vlatsis]]
| align="center" |1967 - 1969
| align="center" | 23
| align="center" | 13
| align="center" | 7
| align="center" | 3
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[Ralé Rasic]]
| align="center" |1970 - 1974
| align="center" | 31
| align="center" | 16
| align="center" | 9
| align="center" | 6
| 1st round at the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Brian Green (footballer)|Brian Green]]
| align="center" |1976
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 0
|
|-
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Jim Shoulder]]
| align="center" |1976 - 1978
| align="center" | 25
| align="center" | 10
| align="center" | 7
| align="center" | 8
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Rudi Gutendorf]]
| align="center" |1979 - 1981
| align="center" | 18
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 8
| align="center" | 7
| '''Winner''' of the [[1980 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Les Scheinflug]]
| align="center" |1981 - 1983
| align="center" | 12
| align="center" | 8
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 3
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[Frank Arok]]
| align="center" |1983 - 1989
| align="center" | 46
| align="center" | 21
| align="center" | 14
| align="center" | 11
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Les Scheinflug]] <small>(caretaker during Frank Arok absence)</small>
| align="center" |1983
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 1
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Les Scheinflug]] <small>(caretaker)</small>
| align="center" |1990
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 0
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Eddie Thomson]]
| align="center" |1990 - 1996
| align="center" | 56
| align="center" | 26
| align="center" | 11
| align="center" | 19
| '''Winner''' of the [[1996 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Les Scheinflug]] <small>(caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence)</small>
| align="center" |1992
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0
|
|-
| [[Vic Fernandez]] <small>(caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence)</small>
| align="center" |1992
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 1
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Les Scheinflug]] <small>(caretaker during Eddie Thomson absence)</small>
| align="center" |1994
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 0
|
|-
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Raul Blanco]] <small>(caretaker)</small>
| align="center" |1996
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 0
|
|-
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Terry Venables]]
| align="center" |1997 - 1998
| align="center" | 23
| align="center" | 15
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 5
| Runner-up of the [[1997 FIFA Confederations Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Raul Blanco]] <small>(caretaker)</small>
| align="center" |1998 - 1999
| align="center" | 5
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 1
| Runner-up of the [[1998 OFC Nations Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Frank Farina]]
| align="center" |1999 - 2005
| align="center" | 58
| align="center" | 34
| align="center" | 9
| align="center" | 15
| '''Winner''' of the [[2000 OFC Nations Cup]]<br />3rd place at the [[2001 FIFA Confederations Cup]]<br />Runner-up of the [[2002 OFC Nations Cup]]<br />'''Winner''' of the [[2004 OFC Nations Cup]]<br />1st round of the [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|The Netherlands}} [[Guus Hiddink]]
| align="center" |2005 - 2006
| align="center" | 12
| align="center" | 7
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 3
| 2nd round at the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Graham Arnold]]
| align="center" |2006 - 2007
| align="center" | 15
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 5
| Quarter finalists at the [[2007 AFC Asian Cup]]
|-
| {{flagicon|The Netherlands}} [[Rob Baan]] <small>(caretaker)</small>
| align="center" |2007
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" | 0
|-
| {{flagicon|The Netherlands}} [[Pim Verbeek]]
| align="center" |2007 -
| align="center" | 8
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 2
|}
==Players==
===Current squad===
The following players have been named in Australia's squad to play a World Cup qualifier against [[China national football team|China]] in Sydney on June 22.<br />
Players are sorted by position and number of caps. Caps and goals are correct as of [[June 22]] [[2008]].
{{nat fs g start}}
{{nat fs g player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Michael Petkovic]]|age=[[July 16]] [[1976]]|caps=6|goals=0|club=[[Sivasspor]]|clubnat=Turkey}}
{{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[Nikolai Topor-Stanley]]|age=[[March 11]] [[1985]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Perth Glory FC|Perth Glory]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name=[[Matthew Spiranovic]]|age=[[27 June]] [[1988]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[1. FC Nuremberg]]|clubnat=Germany}}{{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=DF|name=[[Jade North]]|age=[[January 7]] [[1981]]|caps=22|goals=0|club=[[Newcastle United Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=DF|name=[[Ruben Zadkovich]]|age=[[May 23]], [[1986]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs g player|no=6|pos=MF|name=[[Carl Valeri]]|age=[[August 14]] [[1984]]|caps=10|goals=0|club=[[U.S. Grosseto F.C.|Grosseto]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=MF|name=[[Mile Jedinak]]|age=[[August 3]] [[1984]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Central Coast Mariners FC|Central Coast Mariners]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=MF|name=[[James Holland (footballer)|James Holland]]|age=[[May 15]] [[1989]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Newcastle United Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Bruce Djite]]|age=[[March 25]] [[1987]]|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[Gençlerbirliği S.K.|Gençlerbirliği]]|clubnat=Turkey}}
{{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=MF|name=[[Harry Kewell]] [[Captain (football)|(c)]]|age=[[September 22]] [[1978]]|caps=36|goals=11|club=[[Galatasaray]]|clubnat=Turkey}}
{{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=FW|name=[[James Troisi]]|age=[[July 3]], [[1988]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Free agent]]}}
{{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=GK|name=[[Ante Covic|Ante Čović]]|age=[[June 13]] [[1975]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Newcastle United Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=FW|name=[[David Williams (footballer)|David Williams]]|age=[[February 26]] [[1988]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Brøndby IF|Brondby IF]]|clubnat=Denmark}}
{{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=MF|name=[[Kristian Sarkies]]|age=[[October 25]] [[1986]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Adelaide United]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=15|pos=MF|name=[[Stuart Musialik]]|age=[[March 29]] [[1985]]|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Sydney FC]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=DF|name=[[Rodrigo Vargas]]|age=[[20 October]] [[1978]]|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]]|clubnat=Australia}}
{{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=MF|name=[[Neil Kilkenny]]|age=[[December 19]] [[1985]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]]|clubnat=England}}
{{nat fs g player|no=19|pos=DF|name=[[Michael Beauchamp]]|age=[[March 8]] [[1981]]|caps=17|goals=1|club=[[Aalborg BK]]|clubnat=Denmark}}
{{nat fs g end}}
===Recent Call Ups===
The following players have also been called up to the Australian squad in the past 12 months or are regular squad members.
;Goalkeepers
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=850
|-
!width=20%|Name
!width=15%|Date of birth
!width=25%|Club
!width=12%|Caps (goals)
!width=28%|Most Recent Call up
|-
| [[Mark Schwarzer]]
|align=right| [[October 6]] [[1972]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]
|align=center| 57 (0)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Adam Federici]]
|align=right| [[January 31]] [[1985]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Reading F.C.|Reading]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[1 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Tando Velaphi]]
|align=right| [[April 17]] [[1987]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Perth Glory FC|Perth Glory]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Clint Bolton]]
|align=right| [[August 22]], [[1975]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Sydney FC]]
|align=center| 4 (0)
| v. [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], [[11 September]] [[2007]]
|-
| [[Brad Jones (footballer)|Brad Jones]]
|align=right| [[March 19]], [[1982]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]]
|align=center| 1 (0)
| v. [[Japan national football team|Japan]], [[21 July]] [[2007]]
|}
;Defenders
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=850
|-
!width=20%|Name
!width=15%|Date of birth
!width=25%|Club
!width=12%|Caps (goals)
!width=28%|Most Recent Call up
|-
| [[Brett Emerton]]
|align=right| [[February 22]] [[1979]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]]
|align=center| 66 (14)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[David Carney]]
|align=right| [[November 30]] [[1983]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]
|align=center| 13 (1)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Chris Coyne]]
|align=right| [[December 28]] [[1978]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]]
|align=center| 1 (0)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Mark Milligan]]
|align=right| [[August 4]] [[1985]]
| [[Free agent]]
|align=center| 5 (0)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[1 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Adam Griffiths]]
|align=right| [[August 21]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Newcastle United Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]
|align=center| 2 (0)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Lucas Neill]]
|align=right| [[March 9]] [[1978]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
|align=center| 41 (0)
| v. [[China national football team|China]], [[26 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Patrick Kisnorbo]]
|align=right| [[March 24]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Leicester City F.C.|Leicester City]]
|align=center| 14 (0)
| v. [[China national football team|China]], [[26 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Adrian Leijer]]
|align=right| [[March 25]], [[1986]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]
|align=center| 1 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Nigel Boogaard]]
|align=right| [[August 14]] [[1986]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Central Coast Mariners FC|Central Coast Mariners]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Tarek Elrich]]
|align=right| [[January 1]] [[1987]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Newcastle United Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Scott Chipperfield]]
|align=right| [[December 30]] [[1975]]
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[FC Basel]]
|align=center| 54 (11)
| v. [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]], [[November 17]] [[2007]]
|-
| [[Michael Thwaite]]
|align=right| [[May 2]], [[1983]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Melbourne Victory]]
|align=center| 6 (0)
| v. [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]], [[November 17]] [[2007]]
|}
;Midfielders
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=850
|-
!width=20%|Name
!width=15%|Date of birth
!width=25%|Club
!width=12%|Caps (goals)
!width=28%|Most Recent Call up
|-
| [[Mark Bresciano]]
|align=right| [[February 11]] [[1980]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]]
|align=center| 42 (10)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Jason Čulina]]
|align=right| [[August 5]] [[1980]]
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[PSV Eindhoven]]
|align=center| 32 (1)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Luke Wilkshire]]
|align=right| [[October 2]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[FC Twente]]
|align=center| 27 (0)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Nick Carle]]
|align=right| [[November 23]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]]
|align=center| 7 (0)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Vince Grella]]
|align=right| [[October 5]] [[1979]]
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Torino F.C.|Torino]]
|align=center| 35 (0)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[7 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Jacob Burns]]
|align=right| [[January 21]] [[1978]]
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[FC Unirea Voluntari Urziceni|Unirea Urziceni]]
|align=center| 6 (0)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]] [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Mile Sterjovski]]
|align=right| [[May 27]] [[1979]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]]
|align=center| 34 (6)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Leigh Broxham]]
|align=right| [[January 13]] [[1988]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]]
|align=center| 1 (0)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Blagoja Celeski|Billy Celeski]]
|align=right| [[July 14]], [[1985]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Michael Zullo]]
|align=right| [[September 11]], [[1988]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Queensland Roar FC|Queensland Roar]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Tim Cahill]]
|align=right| [[December 6]], [[1979]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]
|align=center| 28 (13)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[6 February]] [[2008]]
|}
;Strikers
{| class="wikitable sortable" width=850
|-
!width=20%|Name
!width=15%|Date of birth
!width=25%|Club
!width=12%|Caps (goals)
!width=28%|Most Recent Call up
|-
| [[Brett Holman]]
|align=right| [[October 2]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[AZ (football club)|AZ Alkmaar]]
|align=center| 16 (1)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Scott McDonald]]
|align=right| [[August 21]] [[1983]]
| {{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]]
|align=center| 8 (0)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[14 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Joshua Kennedy]]
|align=right| [[August 20]] [[1982]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Karlsruher SC]]
|align=center| 6 (2)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[7 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Nikita Rukavytsya]]
|align=right| [[22 June]] [[1987]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Perth Glory FC|Perth Glory]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[1 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Matt Simon]]
|align=right| [[January 22]] [[1986]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Central Coast Mariners FC|Central Coast Mariners]]
|align=center| 0 (0)
| v. [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]], [[1 June]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Daniel Allsopp]]
|align=right| [[August 10]] [[1978]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]]
|align=center| 2 (0)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Mark Bridge]]
|align=right| [[November 7]] [[1985]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Sydney FC]]
|align=center| 2 (0)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Joel Griffiths]]
|align=right| [[August 21]] [[1979]]
| {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Avispa Fukuoka]]
|align=center| 3 (1)
| v. [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]], [[23 May]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Archie Thompson]]
|align=right| [[October 23]] [[1978]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Melbourne Victory FC|Melbourne Victory]]
|align=center| 30 (21)
| v. [[China national football team|China]], [[26 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Ryan Griffiths (footballer)|Ryan Griffiths]]
|align=right| [[August 21]] [[1981]]
| {{flagicon|China}} [[Liaoning F.C.|Liaoning]]
|align=center| 5 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Nathan Burns]]
|align=right| [[May 7]] [[1988]]
| {{flagicon|Greece}} [[AEK Athens F.C.|AEK Athens FC]]
|align=center| 2 (0)
| v. [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]], [[22 March]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[John Aloisi]]
|align=right| [[February 5]] [[1976]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Sydney FC]]
|align=center| 55 (27)
| v. [[Qatar national football team|Qatar]], [[6 February]] [[2008]]
|-
| [[Mark Viduka]]
|align=right| [[October 9]], [[1975]]
| {{flagicon|England}} [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]
|align=center| 43 (11)
| v. [[Japan national football team|Japan]], [[21 July]] [[2007]]
|}
===Previous squads===
*[[2007 AFC Asian Cup squads#Australia|2007 AFC Asian Cup Squads - Australia]]
*[[2006 FIFA World Cup squads#Australia|2006 FIFA World Cup squads - Australia]]
*[[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Australia|2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squads - Australia]]
*[[2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Australia|2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads - Australia]]
*[[1997 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Australia|1997 FIFA Confederations Cup squads - Australia]]
*[[1974 FIFA World Cup squads#Australia|1974 FIFA World Cup squads - Australia]]
===Notable former players===
:''Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
;1947
*[[Reg Date]]
*[[Joe Marston]]
;1955
*[[Ron Lord]]
;1965
*[[Johnny Warren]]
;1967
*[[Attila Abonyi]]
*[[Ray Baartz]]
*[[Manfred Schaefer]]
;1969
*[[Adrian Alston]]
;1970
*[[Jimmy Rooney]]
*[[Peter Wilson (Australian footballer)|Peter Wilson]]
;1974
*[[Harry Williams (Australian footballer)|Harry Williams]]
;1977
*[[John Kosmina]]
;1979
*[[Eddie Krnčević]]
{{col-3}}
;1980
*[[Alan Edward Davidson]]
;1981
*[[David Mitchell (footballer)|David Mitchell]]
*[[Oscar Crino]]
;1983
*[[Graham Jennings]]
*[[Charlie Yankos]]
;1984
*[[Frank Farina]]
;1985
*[[Graham Arnold]]
;1986
*[[Paul Wade]]
;1988
*[[Alex Tobin]]
*[[Mike Petersen]]
*[[Robbie Slater]]
*[[Paul Trimboli]]
;1990
*[[Mehmet Durakovic]]
*[[Robert Zabica]]
*[[Daniel Segovia]]
{{col-3}}
;1991
*[[Milan Ivanović]]
*[[Paul Okon]]
*[[Aurelio Vidmar]]
*[[Tony Vidmar]]
*[[Ned Zelić]]
;1992
*[[Zeljko Kalac]]
*[[Damian Mori]]
;1993
*[[Mark Bosnich]]
*[[Stan Lazaridis]]
;1994
*[[Kevin Muscat]]
;1995
*[[Craig Moore]]
*[[Tony Popovic]]
;1996
*[[Paul Agostino]]
*[[Harry Kewell]]
;1997
*[[Josip Skoko]]
;2004
*[[Tim Cahill]]
{{col-end}}
===Players with most caps===
As of [[23 July]] [[2007]], the players with the most caps for Australia are:
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=20 |#
!width=100 |Name
!width=80 |Career
!width=50 |Caps
!width=50 |Goals
|-
!1
|align="left"|[[Alex Tobin]]
|1988 - 1998
|87
|2
|-
!2
|align="left"|[[Paul Wade]]
|1986 - 1996
|84
|10
|-
!3
|align="left"|[[Tony Vidmar]]
|1991 - 2006
|76
|3
|-
!4
|align="left"|'''[[Brett Emerton]]'''
|1998 -
|67
|14
|-
!5
|align="left"|[[Peter Wilson]]
|1970 - 1977
|64
|3
|-
!6
|align="left"|[[Attila Abonyi]]
|1967 - 1977
|61
|25
|-
!rowspan="2" valign="top"|7
|align="left"|[[John Kosmina]]
|1977 - 1988
|60
|25
|-
|align="left"|[[Stan Lazaridis]]
|1993 - 2006
|60
|0
|-
!9
|align="left"|[[Milan Ivanović]]
|1991 - 1998
|59
|0
|-
!10
|align="left"|[[Tony Popović]]
|1995 - 2006
|58
|8
|-
!11
|align="left"|[[Jimmy Rooney]]
|1970 - 1980
|57
|4
|-
|}
===Players with most goals===
As of [[22 July]] [[2007]], the players with the most goals for Australia are:
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=20 |#
!width=120 |Name
!width=80 |Career
!width=80 |Goals (Caps)
!width=80 |Average
|-
!1
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Damian Mori]]
|1992 - 2002
|29 (45)
|0.64
|-
!2
|style="text-align:left;"|'''[[John Aloisi]]
|1997 -
|27 (54)
|0.52
|-
!rowspan="2" valign="top"|3
|style="text-align:left;"|[[John Kosmina]]
|1977 - 1988
|25 (60)
|0.42
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Attila Abonyi]]
|1967 - 1977
|25 (61)
|0.41
|-
!rowspan="2" valign="top"|5
|style="text-align:left;"|'''[[Archie Thompson]]
|2001 -
|21 (27)
|0.78
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[David Zdrilić]]
|1997 - 2005
|21 (30)
|0.7
|-
!7
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Graham Arnold]]
|1985 - 1997
|19 (56)
|0.34
|-
!8
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Ray Baartz]]
|1967 - 1974
|18 (48)
|0.38
|-
!rowspan="2" valign="top"|9
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Gary Cole (footballer)|Gary Cole]]
|1978 - 1982
|17 (19)
|0.89
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Aurelio Vidmar]]
|1991 - 2001
|17 (44)
|0.39
|-
|}
==Records==
===Most goals in a match===
*13 - [[Archie Thompson]] (world record) v [[American Samoa national team|American Samoa]], [[2001]]
*8 - [[David Zdrillic]] v [[American Samoa national soccer team|American Samoa]], [[2001]]
*7 - [[Gary Cole (footballer)|Gary Cole]] v [[Fiji national football team|Fiji]], [[1981]]
*6 - [[John Aloisi]] v [[Tonga national football team|Tonga]], [[2001]]
*5 - [[Damian Mori]] v [[Solomon Islands national football team|Solomon Islands]], [[1997]]
===Highest team score===
*31 (world record) v [[American Samoa national football team|American Samoa]], [[2001]]
*22 v [[Tonga national football team|Tonga]], [[2001]]
*17 v [[Cook Islands national football team|Cook Islands]], [[2000]]
*16 v [[Cook Islands national football team|Cook Islands]], [[1998]]
*13 v [[Solomon Islands national football team|Solomon Islands]], [[1997]]
==Sponsors==
Sponsorship has generally been hard to find for the Socceroos as until 2005 football (soccer) in [[Australia]] was not seen as an attractive investment for companies. After Australia qualifed for the [[FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]] potential sponsors saw the Socceroos profile rise and jumped on board the so called [[Bandwagon effect|bandwagon]].
Currently the Socceroos are sponsored by [[Qantas]], the Major Sponsor, and [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]], the Kit Supplier. Other sponsors include [[Foxtel]], [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]], [[National Australia Bank|NAB]], [[Powerade]], [[Telstra]] & [[Westfield Group|Westfield]].
==External links==
*[http://www.footballaustralia.com.au FFA official website]
*[http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Socceroo/Socceroo.html Archive of results 1922-]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/aus-recintlp.html RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/aus-coach-triv.html RSSSF archive of coaches 1922-1998]
*[http://www.theworldgame.com.au/ the SBS World Game site]
*[http://www.ggarmy.com The Green & Gold Army Site]
*[http://www.ak-tsc.de/soccer-en.htm The Southern Cross]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{start box}}
{{succession box
| before = [[1973 OFC Nations Cup|1973]] {{fb-rt|New Zealand}}
| title = [[OFC Nations Cup|Oceanian Champions]]
| years = [[1980 OFC Nations Cup|1980]] (First title)<br>[[1996 OFC Nations Cup|1996]] (Second title)
| after = [[1998 OFC Nations Cup|1998]] {{fb-rt|New Zealand}}
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[1998 OFC Nations Cup|1998]] {{fb-rt|New Zealand}}
| title = [[OFC Nations Cup|Oceanian Champions]]
| years = [[2000 OFC Nations Cup|2000]] (Third title)
| after = [[2002 OFC Nations Cup|2002]] {{fb-rt|New Zealand}}
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[2002 OFC Nations Cup|2002]] {{fb-rt|New Zealand}}
| title = [[OFC Nations Cup|Oceanian Champions]]
| years = [[2004 OFC Nations Cup|2004]] (Fourth title)
| after = Incumbent<ref name="wc2006">Australia is no longer part of the Oceania Football Confederation and will not be defending the title.</ref>
}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Japan national football team|Japan]]
| title = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC Men's Team of the Year]]
| years = [[Asian Football Confederation|2006]]
| after = {{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]]
}}
{{end box}}
{{fb start}}
{{AUS fb general}}
{{AUS fb natteams}}
{{International Football}}
{{AFC teams}}
{{2006 FIFA World Cup finalists}}
{{fb end}}
{{Australia Squad 1974 World Cup}}
{{Australia Squad 2006 World Cup}}
{{Australia national teams}}
[[Category:Australia national football (soccer) team| ]]
[[Category:Oceanian national football teams]]
[[Category:Asian national football teams]]
[[Category:National sports teams of Australia|Football (socccer)]]
{{Link FA|pt}}
[[ar:منتخب أستراليا لكرة القدم]]
[[cs:Australská fotbalová reprezentace]]
[[da:Australiens fodboldlandshold]]
[[de:Australische Fußballnationalmannschaft]]
[[et:Austraalia jalgpallikoondis]]
[[es:Selección de fútbol de Australia]]
[[eo:Aŭstralia nacia teamo de futbalo]]
[[eu:Australiako futbol selekzio nazionala]]
[[fa:تیم ملی فوتبال استرالیا]]
[[fr:Équipe d'Australie de football]]
[[ko:오스트레일리아 축구 국가대표팀]]
[[hr:Australska nogometna reprezentacija]]
[[id:Tim nasional sepak bola Australia]]
[[it:Nazionale di calcio dell'Australia]]
[[he:נבחרת אוסטרליה בכדורגל]]
[[lv:Austrālijas futbola izlase]]
[[lt:Australijos vyrų futbolo rinktinė]]
[[hu:Ausztrál labdarúgó-válogatott]]
[[nl:Australisch voetbalelftal]]
[[ja:サッカーオーストラリア代表]]
[[no:Australias herrelandslag i fotball]]
[[pl:Reprezentacja Australii w piłce nożnej]]
[[pt:Seleção Australiana de Futebol]]
[[ru:Сборная Австралии по футболу]]
[[sk:Austrálske národné futbalové mužstvo]]
[[sr:Фудбалска репрезентација Аустралије]]
[[fi:Australian jalkapallomaajoukkue]]
[[sv:Australiens herrlandslag i fotboll]]
[[th:ฟุตบอลทีมชาติออสเตรเลีย]]
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[[tr:Avustralya Millî Futbol Takımı]]
[[wuu:澳大利亚国家足球队]]
[[zh:澳大利亞國家足球隊]]