World Cup 2006 Groups: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H

Group F Team Profiles: Brazil | Croatia | Australia | Japan

Australia

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Australia team kit

What a year for football in Australia. The re-energised domestic scene received the perfect accompaniment when the Socceroos edged past World Cup veterans Uruguay in November to pinch only their second-ever finals appearance. The two-legged affair was awash with heroes, none more so than Middlesbrough 'keeper Mark Schwarzer courtesy of two penalty shootout saves and the free-roaming Harry Kewell, showing signs of his best form in the Sydney decider.

But what a task awaits Guus Hiddink's side in Germany. Every opponent in tricky Group F has a story attached. Meeting Brazil is a dream come true and one to savour regardless of the result. Japan will be a fellow AFC nation come the World Cup. And Croatia's side features a handful of Australia-born players who thought their international future lay with the land of their ancestry rather than of their birthplace. Reserve goalkeeper Joey Didulica and defenders Ante Seric and Joe Simunic all jumped ship when Croatia came calling while a number of stars including the likes of captain Mark Viduka and Tony Popovic remained with the green-and-gold. Right decision? June 22 will reveal all.

Australia Matches

Match # Date & Time Group Teams Result Venue
12 Mon 12th Jun 15:00 F  AUS  JPN 3 - 1 Kaiserslautern
27 Sun 18th Jun 18:00 F  BRA  AUS 2 - 0 Munich
44 Thu 22nd Jun 21:00 F  CRO  AUS 2 - 2 Stuttgart
53 Mon 26th Jun 17:00 R2  ITA  AUS 1 - 0 Kaiserslautern

Match times shown are local times for Germany (CEST/GMT+0200). Click on match date/time to view match statistics.

Past World Cup performance

Key Players

World Cup 2006 Qualification

Squad

Total World Cup 2006
# Posn Name DOB Club Caps Goals Pld Goals OG YC RC
1 GK Schwarzer Mark 06-10-1972 Middlesbrough ENG 41 0 3 0 0 0 0
2 DF Neill Lucas 09-03-1978 Blackburn Rovers ENG 30 0 4 0 0 0 0
3 DF Moore Craig 12-12-1975 Newcastle ENG 38 3 4 1 0 1 0
4 MF Cahill Tim 06-12-1979 Everton ENG 21 13 4 2 0 2 0
5 MF Culina Jason 05-08-1980 PSV Eindhoven NED 18 1 4 0 0 1 0
6 DF Popovic Tony 04-07-1973 Crystal Palace ENG 57 7 1 0 0 0 0
7 MF Emerton Brett 22-02-1979 Blackburn Rovers ENG 52 11 3 0 0 2 1
8 MF Skoko Josip 10-12-1975 Wigan ENG 46 9 0 0 0 0 0
9 FW Viduka Mark 09-10-1975 Middlesbrough ENG 38 6 4 0 0 0 0
10 FW Kewell Harry 22-09-1978 Liverpool ENG 24 7 3 1 0 0 0
11 MF Lazaridis Stan 16-08-1972 Birmingham City ENG 59 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 GK Covic Ante 13-06-1975 Hammarby SWE 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 MF Grella Vince 05-10-1979 Parma ITA 22 0 4 0 0 2 0
14 DF Chipperfield Scott 30-12-1975 Basel SUI 51 11 4 0 0 0 0
15 FW Aloisi John 05-02-1976 Alaves ESP 46 25 4 1 0 1 0
16 DF Beauchamp Michael 08-03-1981 Central Coast Mariners AUS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 FW Thompson Archie 23-10-1978 PSV Eindhoven NED 20 21 0 0 0 0 0
18 GK Kalac Zeljko 16-12-1972 AC Milan ITA 53 0 1 0 0 0 0
19 FW Kennedy Joshua 20-08-1982 Dynamo Dresden GER 4 1 2 0 0 0 0
20 MF Wilkshire Luke 02-10-1981 Bristol City ENG 11 0 2 0 0 1 0
21 MF Sterjovski Mile 27-05-1979 Basel SUI 25 4 3 0 0 0 0
22 DF Milligan Mark 04-08-1985 Sydney FC AUS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 MF Bresciano Marco 11-02-1980 Parma ITA 29 7 4 0 0 0 0