FIFA World Cup 2022, Australia Review: How the Socceroos stunned the World

The
two-and-a-half-year
qualification
campaign
followed
by
a
performance
of
a
lifetime
in
the
World
Cup
finals,
will
etch
the
Australian
squad’s
name
in
the
record
book.

The
Socceroos
went
to
Qatar
knowing
they
would
be
tested
as
team
and
that
would
be
easily
beaten
in
a
tough
Group
D.
The
prediction
seemed
accurate
when
they
fell
to
France
4-1
in
their
opening
match.

But,
they
managed
to
pick
themselves
up
from
the
heavy
thrashing
and
delivered
something
which
none
of
them
could
have
predicted
when
the
draw
was
made
in
April.

A
hard-fought
1-0
win
against
Tunisia
handed
them
the
confidence
they
were
seeking
and
they
came
to
the
ultimate
group
stage
match
knowing
a
win
could
guide
them
to
the
next
round.

Their
victory
over
Tunisia
was
their
first
at
the
competition
in
12
years,
while
the
Socceroos’
1-0
victory
was
also
their
first
clean
sheet
at
a
FIFA
World
Cup
in
48
years.

Next,
a
resilient
Denmark
who
were
also
on
brink
of
an
exit
from
the
tournament
put
up
a
stern
challenge
in
the
final
game.
But,
stunning
the
world
ranked
#10,
Graham
Arnold’s
side
sneaked
in
a
1-0
win.
It
was
the
first
time
an
Australian
team
had
beaten
a
top-ten-ranked
nation
at
a
FIFA
World
Cup.

Their
dream
run
came
to
an
end
in
the
round
of
16
games
where
they
lost
2-1.
However,
the
Socceroos
pushed
them
to
their
limits
until
the
end.

The
Socceroos
had
only
ever
won
four
matches
at
a
FIFA
World
Cup
in
six
Finals
appearances,
including
two
at
this
tournament.
The
ongoing
campaign
definitely
has
been
one
of
the
most
successful
in
their
history
and
will
be
remembered
by
the
fans
and
enthusiasts
for
a
long
time.