Group                                                   : B with Spain, the Netherlands and Chile 

Current Fifa Ranking                   : 58th with 565 points

World Cup Appearances            : 1974, 2006 and 2010

Best Achievement                         : Round of 16

Head Coach                                        : Ange Postecoglou

Captain                                                 : Lucas Neill

Being the lowest ranked nation to take part in the upcoming World Cup, Australia managed to qualify for the tournament after scoring during the final seven minutes of the campaign against Iraq. Former national youth team and current head coach Ange Postecoglou has changed the mentality within the Socceroos camp since his appointment and has also help revive some players’ national career.

An extremely tough group lies ahead for Australia as they are up against the current World champions as well as the Netherlands and Chile. A general perception on this group will see Spain emerging triumphant whilst Holland and Chile scrap it out for second place, yet the Australians do have what it takes to stage a surprise, same way they did in 2006.

Omiya Ardija’s Lucas Neill remains the favourite to retain the armband during the tournament, whilst a number of other inspirational players could help in the squad exceeding expectations. These include Middlesborough’s centre back Rhys Williams, Crystal Palace midfielder Mile Jedinak, New York Red Bull’s Tim Cahill and Bayer Leverkusen striker Robbie Kruse.

Should Postecoglou stick to his orders by mixing youth with experience, the Socceroos will be able to throw a wrench in the opposition’s works however that will heavily rely on their star players’ forms as well as opposition form and luck. This shall be no easy task at all due to the abundance of talent found in the other squads; however that is exactly what everyone thought in 2006.

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