What to expect from Australia at the 2022 World Cup

The Socceroos of Australia are ready for their fifth consecutive World Cup finals appearance, after qualifying as one of the teams from the intercontinental playoffs.

Although they have been one of the best teams in Oceania and later in Asia, their participation and success on the world stage is very limited due to the strength of the opposition from other confederations.

As you study the best World Cup 2022 tips, here is some information on Australia to guide you when making those bets during the World Cup.

Australia at the World Cup

Australia started as a member nation of the Oceania Football Confederation but left in 2006 to become a member of the Asian Football Confederation. This is because they had grown too big for their opponents in the small confederation and needed a bigger challenge.

From 1930 to 1962, they did not attempt to qualify for the World Cup. They began trying in 1966 and finally earned qualification in 1974. That would be their first and only World Cup until 2006, when they officially joined the AFC.

They have since qualified for every edition since then and have given a good account of themselves on the world stage. Some Socceroos like Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka have also gone on to attain legendary status in world football.

Australia at the 1974 World Cup

Australia's first appearance at the FIFA World Cup was in the 1974 edition hosted by Germany (then known as West Germany). This was after a series of intense intercontinental playoff games which the Oceania nations were subject to.

The Socceroos of the 1974 World Cup was a team of amateurs who had day jobs as football was still being developed in their country. Their successes in OFC at the time did not matter much on the world stage.

They were grouped alongside East Germany, West Germany and Chile. Despite finishing last in their group with one draw (against Chile in their last match) and two losses to East and West Germany, their performance was said to be credible for the rookies that they were.

Australia at the 2006 World Cup

Australia made their next appearance at the 2006 World Cup finals 32 years after their first appearance in 1974. Like their first appearance, they also travelled to Germany to challenge the rest of the world and by this time, they had built up some credibility.

Having developed and established football as a professional endeavour, and represented the OFC in the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, they earned their slot among the best nations in what would be their last outing as an OFC nation. It would also be the best outing by an OFC nation at the finals.

They were grouped with Brazil, Australia, Croatia and Japan. They finished second in that group, taking points from Japan and Australia while losing convincingly to world powers Brazil. But Italy, the tournament's eventual winners, sent them home in the round of 16 after a tightly contested match which could have gone either way.

Australia at the 2010 World Cup

The Socceroos attended their first World Cup as an AFC nation in 2010. By this time, they had built international credibility as a footballing nation, a journey which started from their great outing in the 2006 edition where they made it to the round of 16.

The journey to South Africa was a lot smoother as they qualified directly to the tournament from their AFC group. First they beat Qatar, Iran and China to finish in first place in the third round grouping, before beating Japan, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Bahrain in the fourth round grouping.
They locked horns with Germany, Ghana and Serbia in their 2010 World Cup group and finished with a similar result to their 2006 appearance. However, they missed out narrowly on the round of 16 as Ghana finished similarly but with a better goal difference.

Australia at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups

By 2014, Australia were no longer considered a small team. However, they failed to make much difference in Brazil after a mooted qualification run to the finals in the AFC qualifiers stages.

They finished last in their group which had The Netherlands, Spain and Chile in 2014 with three losses and only three goals scored. 2018 was not any better as they became the 31st team to secure qualification for the tournament.

They also finished last in 2018 after coming up against France (2018 winners), Denmark and Peru. However, they secured a draw against Denmark and let in less goals than they did in 2014.
What to expect from Australia in 2022

As you look at the best World Cup 2022 tips, you could choose to take a risk on them finishing higher than they did in 2018. They have pretty much the same group as their 2018 with only Tunisia being the difference, as the North Africans replace Peru in that group.

Australia's tournament participation statistics clearly show that making it out of the group stages is always a tall ask for the Socceroos. It is a safe bet to stake on them performing the same way in Qatar.

Keep up to date with Overlyzer for all the best tips on how to bet profitably on Australia (and other teams) in the upcoming World Cup.