By Biodun Busari 

Australia who are also known as Socceroos will participate in the World Cup in Qatar six times and this edition is their fifth consecutive time since 2006. They qualified after beating Peru in a 5-4 penalty shoot-out in their intercontinental playoff on June 13.

They are grouped with the defending champions France, Denmark and Tunisia and appear to be the least favourites in group D because of their previous unpopular campaigns on the world stage. 

The Aussies play in the Oceania Federation Cup (OFC) and the Asian Cup and have become a force to reckon with as they have been crowned four times in OFC while they beat Asian countries in the Asian Cup to emerge champions in 2015. 

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Undoubtedly, they are relative minnows but the resilient, never-say-die spirit they exhibit at every World Cup competition is usually astounding as shown in their best performance ever when they made it to the knockout stage in Germany in 2006.

They qualified from group F coming second to Brazil to the detriment of Japan and Croatia in 2006. And they went on to face Italy who edged them out of the Mundial with a late 1-0 penalty after a hard-fought game. 

In Qatar, this summer, Australia will have nothing to lose playing as underdogs but they have top players like Matthew Leckie, Matthew Ryan, Jackson Irvine and others to pull stunts that are usually expected in football.

Players to watch out for:

Name: Matthew Leckie

Position: Midfielder

Current club: Melbourne City FC

Age: 31-year-old

Matthew Leckie is a prominent midfielder with experience to help the team at the tournament as he is a quick and agile player with the capacity to usually play on the wing as well as playing as a false striker or main striker.

He also has the leadership skills if called to be the captain with 73 appearances scoring 13 goals having been called up to the national team in 2012. He joined Melbourne City FC last year and has netted nine times in 23 games. He was part of the team that won the Asian Cup in 2015.

Leckie was part of the squad in the last edition of the tournament in Russia in 2018. He also played a key role in the qualifying games and the opponents in Qatar should be wary of his intelligent dribbling skills and commanding presence on the pitch.

Name: Matthew Ryan

Position: Goalkeeper

Current club: Copenhagen

Age: 30-year-old

Matthew Ryan, like his namesake Matthew Leckie, was called up to the national team in 2012 but has 75 caps and was a member of the team that won the Asian Cup in 2015. He is an experienced goalie who has been in goals for European clubs like Valencia, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Real Sociedad and currently plays for a Danish club, Copenhagen.

Ryan was in the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and Russia respectively. With his experience, he has been captaining the team since 2019. One of his best performances was in the 2015 Asian Cup with record saves as he only conceded two goals in the competition.

The Australian manager Graham Arnold will bank on the skills and experiences of some players in his squad at the World Cup, and Ryan knows he would be one of the players that could not let him down.

Name: Jackson Irvine

Position: Midfielder

Current club: FC St. Pauli

Age: 29-year-old

Irvine is a midfielder with Bundesliga 2nd division club FC St. Pauli. He has played for Burton Albion and Hull City with outstanding stints where he scored 21 goals in 151 games at both clubs.

He has been playing for Australia since 2013 with 7 goals in 47 games. He was part of the team in the last 2018 edition in Russia and would be instrumental again for the team in Qatar. He has tackling skills and passing abilities that can pose challenges to opponents.    

Coach

Name: Graham Arnold

Position: Manager

Age: 59-year-old

Graham Arnold took the coaching job for Australia in 2018 after the World Cup in Russia and has then managed 33 games with 23 victories 4 draws and 6 losses in all.

He managed a lot of Australian club sides and garnered experience while he was the assistant to Guus Hiddink for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He became the interim coach and went on to qualify the country’s U23 team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 59-year-old manager has a blend of home-based and European players in the squad and this would be one of his strengths. Also, the resilient spirit that dwells in the team is what he could use against his opponents.