Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, right, celebrates with forward Miroslav Klose at the end of the World Cup, Group A soccer match between Germany and Poland, at the Dortmund stadium, Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2006. Germany won 1-0. The other teams in Group A are Ecuador and Costa Rica. AP Photo/Murad Sezer

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, right, celebrates with forward Miroslav Klose at the end of the World Cup, Group A soccer match between Germany and Poland, at the Dortmund stadium, Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2006. Germany won 1-0. The other teams in Group A are Ecuador and Costa Rica. AP Photo/Murad Sezer

Australia will be one of the thirty two countries competing in the FIFA World Cup finals tournament in South Africa next year. This is only the third time ever Australia has participated in this competition which has been running for eighty years.

To reach the finals, each country had to compete in a lengthy qualification process. The FIFA Football World Cup Finals tournament is the most popular, most watched and highest grossing sporting event in the world.

No surprise, therefore, that it is so keenly contested by all countries that enter and there is such keen competition for the rights to host the tournament.

1974 was the first time ever that the Socceroos made it to the FIFA World Cup Finals.

The tournament was held in West Germany and we were drawn in round one in the same group as West Germany, East Germany and Chile. We lost two games and drew with Chile, and were eliminated in the first round without having even scored a goal.

It then proved to be another thirty two years of frustration trying to reach the World Cup finals, but we finally made it to our second ever tournament.

It was in 2006 and the road to qualification led us to a do-or-die last game over two legs with Uruguay, the two time winner of the FIFA World Cup trophy, and the team that had eliminated Australia from the previous World Cup tournament in 2002.

After two legs, the game was poised at one goal each and it took a famous penalty conversion from John Aloisi to get us to our second ever football World Cup finals.

The World Cup Finals of 2006 was also played in Germany.

It seemed that Australian football and the World Cup finals was developing a strong connection with Germany. Some people even joked that we would have to wait another thirty two years until the World Cup finals were played in Germany again to qualify a third time.

As winners of the Oceania Football Federation qualification tournament, we were also able to compete in FIFA’s Confederations Cup competition. This, too, was played in Germany and we were again drawn to play against Germany.

It was a very entertaining and exciting seven goal game, but unfortunately the Socceroos lost four goals to three and were eliminated.

Its no real surprise then that Germany has something to do with our latest foray into the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa next year.

After a long and very successful qualification program in the Asian Football Confederation, the Socceroos succeeded in reaching the FIFA World Cup Finals quite comfortably, finishing top of their group and undefeated in all their last round qualification games.

Australia had now qualified for a second successive World Cup Finals appearance.

The World Cup draw in Cape Town to determine which countries play each other in the first round, has pitted Australia against Germany, Serbia and Ghana. The German football connection for Australia at World Cup Finals continues.

This time Germany is not the host country, but plays an important part in determining whether we progress to the second phase, or knockout stage, of the competition, rather than just qualifying.

Will we continue to surprise in World Cup competitions, perhaps with some help from our German football Freunde, or be eliminated in the first round, as we were in 1974?

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