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 G’day mates, and welcome to the thread for supporting everyone’s favourite sporting nation, Australia. Us Aussies are well-known for being welcoming to immigrants and new arrivals, so please chuck a shrimp on the barbie, grab a coldie from the esky, pull up a pew and join us in supporting a team of Good Lads Who Mean Well. Just don’t say you’re rooting for us, because holy poo poo that means something different Down Unda. World Cup History 2022 makes the fifth consecutive time Australia have qualified for the World Cup, and the sixth time overall. Five of those six times we haven’t made it out of the group stage, the sole exception being 2006 when we lost a Round of 16 match to eventual champions Italy, thanks to a dodgy extra time penalty that I’m definitely not still bitter about. It’s been a bit downhill since then, though Tim Cahill’s volley against the Netherlands in 2014 remains a highlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA7oCfsHwnc Road to Qatar In a word: long. Ridiculously long. Australia was the last team to qualify, after playing twenty (20!!) qualification matches on three continents, spanning 1008 days. Our first qualifying match was a 3-0 victory away to Kuwait on September 10, 2019, starting a run of 8 consecutive victories. But a late collapse in form with draws to Saudi Arabia, China, and Oman (along with a customary home loss to frequent rivals Japan) saw the Good Lads fall to third in group B, forcing a playoff with the third-placed team from group A (United Arab Emirates), for the privilege of another playoff against the fifth-placed South American team – Peru. Just in case the qualification wasn’t long enough, the exciting 0-0 draw went to extra time, and then of course to penalties as well. Australia’s tactical genius coach, Graham Arnold (more on him shortly), subbed on a secret goalkeeping weapon: a wacky inflatable flailing arm tube man known officially as Andrew Redmayne. The result? Watch for yourself... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG-bscB7KjY (also of note, Redmayne saw the Peruvian keeper had notes about the Australian penno takers stuck to his water bottle. When the keeper wasn’t looking, Redmayne ripped the notes off and chucked them into the crowd  )The Squad https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1589845268501262336 Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan (captain) (Copenhagen) Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC) Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners) Defenders: Miloš Degenek (Columbus Crew) Nathaniel Atkinson (Heart of Midlothian) Kye Rowles (Heart of Midlothian) Fran Karacic (Brescia) Bailey Wright (Sunderland) Aziz Behich (Dundee United) Harry Souttar (Stoke City) Thomas Deng (Albirex Niigata) Joel King (OB) Midfielders: Ajdin Hrustic (Hellas Verona) Aaron Mooy (Celtic) Riley McGree (Middlesbrough) Cameron Devlin (Heart of Midlothian) Jackson Irvine (St. Pauli) Keanu Baccus (St Mirren) Forwards: Martin Boyle (Hibernian) Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City) Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) Awer Mabil (Cádiz) Mitchell Duke (Fagiano Okayama) Garang Kuol (Central Coast Mariners) Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United) Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners) Although injuries to some key players have shaped the squad, overall it’s very much a team refreshing and renewing. Of the 26 players, only nine of them went to Russia in 2018, and long gone are the star players of yesteryear like Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer or Big Mark Viduka. Look for Australia to play a 4-2-3-1, probably something like: code:Players to Watch  Ajdin Hrustic Easily the team’s most creative player, his assists and deadballs will be crucial to Australia’s chances in Qatar.  Garang Kuol A surprise inclusion in the team, with only 12 career appearances and 0 starts for his club team and literally one substitute appearance for the Subway Eat Fresh Socceroos. But his pacy, tricky wing play has earned him massive plaudits in Australia’s domestic league and he could well surprise a few teams. He’s also just signed for Newcastle United, resulting in a glorious TRP post about selling Kuol to Newcastle.  Andrew Redmayne Sure, he’s a backup goalkeeper but seriously – just watch this. Watch it again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG-bscB7KjY Coach – Graham Arnold  A former Socceroo himself, Arnold took over after Australia’s underwhelming 2018 World Cup appearance. Primarily a domestic coach, Arnold was hailed as a genius when the Socceroos were flying high during qualifying with 8 consecutive wins. Then as the wheels fell off, he was a dope who wouldn’t know one end of a football from the other. And finally, after qualifying (and particularly after subbing on Redmayne for the shootout), Arnold became a genius again. Pragmatic and no-nonsense, expect his team to fight hard and defend vigorously, with a focus on keeping teams at bay and maximising the few opportunities available. His biggest coaching strength is picking on form, not favour – his squad had no room for veteran defender and son-in-law Trent Sainsbury. The Draw – Group D Australia France Denmark Tunisia There’s a real sense of déjà vu here, given that Australia’s group in Russia 2018 also featured France and Denmark. With a current FIFA ranking of 38, Australia are the lowest ranked team in the group and not really expected to progress. But football’s a funny old game! A win against Tunisia, maybe France will hilariously implode again, or a flukey draw with Denmark – stranger things have happened! If by some miracle the Subway Eat Fresh Socceroos sneak into the knockouts, group D runners-up would face the winners of group C (likely Argentina), so yeah. Matches! vs France Tues 22 Nov, 7pm GMT vs Tunisia Sat 26 Nov, 10am GMT vs Denmark Wed 30 Nov, 3pm GMT Why You Should Support the ‘roos The good lads of the Socceroos were the first team to officially speak out about the human rights issues associated with the tournament, with sixteen players (including captain Mat Ryan) releasing a video highlighting the plight of migrant workers, LGBTQI persecution, and more. The players’ union (PFA) and Football Australia also released simultaneous statements about the issue. And Finally If you’re still reading this, enjoy Australian football’s greatest ever moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm4L40vte7s&t=8649s
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Nov 12, 2022 01:39
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Is the Subway tie-in simply because they have the same colours? lol
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Nov 12, 2022 02:21
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Subway posted:Subway Country Director for Australia and New Zealand, Shane Bracken said he was excited by the opportunities ahead and acknowledged the similarities and values that Subway and Football Australia shared. Absolutely yes
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Nov 12, 2022 02:26
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG-bscB7KjY What is the Australian domestic equivalent of a knighthood?
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Nov 12, 2022 05:20
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I hope Kuol to Newcastle isnt the Arzani to Man City 
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Nov 12, 2022 05:57
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here to post again after four years of not posting about football 😎
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Nov 12, 2022 07:11
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muvpG_6xaFY
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Nov 12, 2022 07:14
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I don’t recognize a single name from that squad. Watching Cahill, Kewell and Viduka carry Australia was one of the more fun parts of the older world cups.
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Nov 12, 2022 09:26
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Since we can't get revenge on Italy for Grosso in '06 this time around I'll be happy to get revenge on France for Griezmann in Russia
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Nov 12, 2022 09:55
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Vegetable posted:I don’t recognize a single name from that squad. Watching Cahill, Kewell and Viduka carry Australia was one of the more fun parts of the older world cups. Cumdog
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Nov 12, 2022 12:56
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thats a lot of aussies playing in scotland
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Nov 12, 2022 23:35
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Vegetable posted:I don’t recognize a single name from that squad. Watching Cahill, Kewell and Viduka carry Australia was one of the more fun parts of the older world cups. Yeah it's definitely lacking in star power like previous sides. But interestingly enough, it's much more cosmopolitan than in previous cups - more of the squad plays outside Australia than ever before, and in a wider variety of competitions as well (England, Scotland, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Italy etc). I'm not expecting great things to be honest, but we might surprise a few teams. Maybe. Maybe not 
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Nov 13, 2022 06:30
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Hoping McGree puts in an absurd shot like his scorpion kick goal or the scissor kick he scored for Boro this weekend.
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Nov 14, 2022 05:07
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You're so poo poo you're Danny Vukovic
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Nov 14, 2022 05:34
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Rogue0071 posted:Hoping McGree puts in an absurd shot like his scorpion kick goal or the scissor kick he scored for Boro this weekend. Hopefully mcgree punts a score like that at the FIFA World Cup for the Subway Eat Fresh Socceroos Australian men's national football team
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Nov 14, 2022 07:43
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https://twitter.com/PFA/status/1591772920552067072?t=AUtPrYEV41oYwR476WN6kg&s=19
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Nov 14, 2022 07:43
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Well I'm convinced, we're gunna win the world cup lads
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Nov 14, 2022 08:16
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webmeister posted:Well I'm convinced, we're gunna win the world cup lads Also Kuol scored a corker in his last game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyoxT2pKBOo
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Nov 14, 2022 08:22
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easy cup win for the boys based on these goals
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Nov 14, 2022 09:47
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I’m here to support the subway cumdog
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Nov 15, 2022 22:20
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Looks like Marco Tilio is coming in as a replacement for Martin Boyle who's still under an injury cloud: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/15/australia-fly-in-marco-tilio-amid-doubts-over-martin-boyles-world-cup-fitness Also v annoyed to discover in that article that Tim Cahill is a paid employee of Qatar, as the "chief sports officer" of the Aspire Academy
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Nov 16, 2022 05:05
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If I were Qatar I would simply adopt AEST so us Aussies (biggest sport fans) can watch at a civilised time. Anything else is a complete failure of FIFA governance (grow the game)
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Nov 20, 2022 22:28
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I'm fairly apathetic about soccer, but the 2006 World Cup is up there in the most memorable sports moments of my life. The qualifying. The comeback against Japan. The chaos of the Croatia game  Italy cheating us out of it  Crushing way to end but what a ride that was  
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Nov 22, 2022 03:19
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Late boost to the Socceroos squad:
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Nov 22, 2022 10:11
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ColtMcAsskick posted:If I were Qatar I would simply adopt AEST so us Aussies (biggest sport fans) can watch at a civilised time. Anything else is a complete failure of FIFA governance (grow the game) Even if they did they'd probably refuse to acknowledge daylight savings like a bunch of Queenslanders
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Nov 22, 2022 14:56
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Well, that was poo poo. Complete lack of effort or intensity in the second half. Pretty much any chance of progessing went out the window with that, would've taken the 2-1 half time score. Still, at least we're playing and Italy are at home
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Nov 23, 2022 03:02
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Windmill Hut posted:Well, that was poo poo. Complete lack of effort or intensity in the second half. Hey you never know, both Denmark and Tunisia looked pretty ordinary so there might be results up for grabs there. Even with 10 men behind the ball we couldn't deal with Mbappe/Dembele getting down the wings, and Griezmann was constantly dragging people out of position and picking up pockets of space. Playing out from the back constantly felt like playing with fire, and I'm surprised we only conceded the one goal from it. Ultimately the scoreline kinda flattered us (I think Mbappe alone missed at least two sitters), but the other game showed second place in the group is still to play for. Plus, second place in our group will probably avoid Argentina in the R16 knockouts now 
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Nov 23, 2022 04:19
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i hope we lose 
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Nov 26, 2022 11:00
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We aren't in Roo-ins yet boys 
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Nov 26, 2022 13:12
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As long as we at least draw with Denmark we should be through to the next round. Tunisia aren't catching us even if a miracle happens and they beat France. Socceroos giving their fans more false hope?
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Nov 27, 2022 00:08
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FreeRangeHexagon posted:As long as we at least draw with Denmark we should be through to the next round. Tunisia aren't catching us even if a miracle happens and they beat France. Socceroos giving their fans more false hope? There's a lot of permutations (all three teams can still qualify behind France). If Denmark beat us they will go through, regardless of the Tunisia-France result. If we beat Denmark, we're through. If we draw, we will be through unless Tunisia beat France. Kind of feels a bit like 2006, where we lost handily to a good team (Brazil), defeated a par team (Japan), and now face a do-or-die third match against more fanciest European opposition (Croatia). I kind of feel like if we play like last night, we've got a good chance against Denmark. But if we play like we did against France, we've got almost no chance. I'm hopeful but not confident. Though I will say, considering people were tipping Denmark to make a really strong showing, I haven't been particularly impressed by either of their displays so far. In conclusion: it's a funny old game
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Nov 27, 2022 01:50
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Tunisia ran no midfield in the first half which allowed us to pile on the pressure and we still only scored one (excellent) goal. If Denmark sends out a midfield we are toast
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Nov 27, 2022 03:09
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webmeister posted:
I feel like if we play the defensive poo poo that we pulled towards the end of Tunisia, we will fail. This could well be the last game in a tournament we shouldn't really have been in and we should go absolutely all out. Gegenpress the gently caress out them. Leave nothing in the tank. If we concede a lot, oh well. If we play that defensive poo poo we will just invite heaps of shots and no doubt fail. Before the tournament I was tipping Souttar to be one of our key players and so far that has rung true. I reckon he will end up at a mid table EPL team next season. Would be nice to have a player in the top flight finally.
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Nov 27, 2022 06:10
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Get the gently caress in cunts, we’re out of the group!
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Nov 30, 2022 18:03
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Bogan Krkic posted:Get the gently caress in cunts, we’re out of the group! Cumdog Millionaires
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Nov 30, 2022 18:03
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Subway
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Nov 30, 2022 18:04
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Looks like eatin fresh is back on the menu boys
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Nov 30, 2022 18:13
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Baccus arrives, party ensues. Feeling a bit of Melbourne Greek influence here lads
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Nov 30, 2022 18:16
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cagliostr0 posted:Baccus arrives, party ensues. Feeling a bit of Melbourne Greek influence here lads Greek influence is banned in Qatar
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Nov 30, 2022 18:16
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loving hell I still can’t believe it Two wins, two clean sheets, opened the scoring in all three games including against the defending champs. If we avoid Argentina in the next round I think we’ve got a decent chance of progressing to the quarters 4:30 and I have work in four hours, how the gently caress am I supposed to sleep now
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Nov 30, 2022 18:27
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