| Germany 2006: |
| AUSTRALIA |
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|
| KEY FACTS |
| World Ranking |
| 54th |
| AUSTRALIA NEWS |
| It seemed like the longest of waits for a nation that performs on most other world sporting stages, but after 32 years Australia will return to Germany, the scene of their first and only world cup appearance in '74. In their last match as an OFC member, Australia overcame Uruguay to book a place in the finals through a nailbiting penalty shoot-out. While their OFC campaign was relatively easy, Tim Cahill still managed to shine as top scorer, putting seven past the island nations they easily brushed aside. Brett Emerton chipped in with 4 goals as next highest scorer. |
| Qualifying Group Position |
| 1st |
| Round 2 |
| Top Scorers |
| 7 Goals |
| QUALIFYING |
| 6-1 |
| Fiji |
| Dft |
| 02-Jun-04 |
| 3-0 |
| Vanuatu |
| Dft |
| 04-Jun-04 |
| 2-2 |
| Solomon Islands |
| Drew |
| 06-Jun-04 |
| 7-0 |
| Solomon Islands |
| Dft |
| 03-Sep-05 |
| 2-1 |
| Solomon Islands |
| Dft |
| 06-Sep-05 |
| 0-1 |
| Uruguay |
| Lost To |
| 12-Nov-05 |
| 1-0 (4-2 on penalties) |
| Uruguay |
| Dft |
| 16-Nov-05 |
| Tim Cahill |
| Win 9-1 on aggrigate |
| Round 3 |
| 1-0 |
| New Zealand |
| Dft |
| 29-May-04 |
| 9-0 |
| Tahiti |
| Dft |
| 31-May-04 |
 |
| 1-1, win 4-2 on penalties |
| Playoff V Uruguay |
 |
| Appearances (Champions in bold) |
| 1974, 2006 |
| AUSTRALIA'S WORLD CUP HISTORY |
| SQUAD (club in brackets) |
| Goalkeepers |
| Ante Covic (Hammarby, Sweden) |
| Zeljko Kalac (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, England) |
| Defenders |
| Michael Beauchamp (Central Coast, Australia) |
| Stan Lazaridis (Uncontracted) |
| Mark Milligan (Sydney FC, Australia) |
| Craig Moore (Newcastle United, England) |
| Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, England) |
| Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, England) |
| Midfielders |
| Marco Bresciano (Parma, Italy) |
| Tim Cahill (Everton, England) |
| Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, Switzerland) |
| Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, Holland) |
| Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England) |
| Vince Grella (Parma, Italy) |
| Harry Kewell (Liverpool, England) |
| Josip Skoko (Stoke City, England) |
| Forwards |
| John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain) |
| Josh Kennedy (Dynamo Dresden, Germany) |
| Archie Thompson (PSV Eindhoven, Holland) |
| Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England) |
| Mile Sterjovski (FC Basel, Switzerland) |
| Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England) |