Where are we at?

Bron asked the question, so here's the answer:

Australia is in the Fourth Round of the Asian section of the World Cup qualifying tournament. We've played four games, winning three and drawing one. Our next match is against bottom team Uzbekistan. If we win that, we'll be on 13 points from five games. The Uzbek coach has already signaled he will probably bring a 'B' Team, as they have no chance of qualifying. We're basically through, unless our form dives dramatically and we succumb to some unlikely results. For more detailed info, check out this page.

This is exactly why we joined the Asian Confederation. Previously, we only played against other teams in Oceania. We'd thrash them, and then have to wait a year or so to find out which team we would play off against for a spot at the World Cup (usually from Asia or South America). While we sat idle, these other international teams were competing in heated battles against other teams desperate to qualify. By the time they got to play us, they were strong, well-drilled teams, while we might not have seen each other for half a year.

Under those circumstances it is almost a miracle that we qualified for the 2006 World Cup. Once we did, the Socceroos did us proud. Drawn in a tough group (Japan, Croatia, and Brazil), we qualified second behind Brazil and drew Italy in the second round. A tight game, decided by a 96th-minute penalty - the last kick of the game - put us out. We'd exceeded expectations. If we had managed to beat Italy, we would have faced the terribly bad Ukraine, who we would have had a good chance of beating. That would have put us into a semi-final against home team Germany, who probably would have caned us. But we would have been in the top four teams at the tournament. And that would be a huge achievement.

I've got no idea how we'll do this time around. Tim Cahill will be key for us, along with Vince Grella, Mark Bresciano, Josh Kennedy, Brett Emerton, Lucas Neill, Mark Schwarzer, and hopefully a fit Harry Kewell. What we'll really need is some younger guys to step up and play regular football next season and then star for the Socceroos. Guys like David Carney, Michael Beauchamp, Patrick Kisnorbo, Adrian Leijer, Neil Kilkenny, Scott McDonald, and Bruce Djite.

The World Cup is a truly wonderful time. Games are great to watch, there are stars and villians and goals, and Australia's last performance provided me with some of my favourite ever sporting memories.