More than a year before the World Cup finals, the Socceroos are nearly there. Just one more win from their four remaining Asian qualifiers should do it.
And after their World Cup group one match against Uzbekistan in Sydney on April 1, Australia could be the first country qualified for 2010 after host nation South Africa.
The situation is as unique as it is tantalising. For once, the Socceroos have time on their side.
After a 0-0 draw with Japan in Yokohama this week, they are within touching distance of a second successive World Cup finals appearance.
And it seems certain that during this stage of qualifying, the Socceroos will get there.
Australia sit two points clear on top of Group One.
Needing a top two finish to qualify with four matches remaining, they are six points clear of third place.
It would take more than a choke now for the Socceroos to miss out. Their oesophagus would have to explode.
And when they do qualify, it will kick-start the longest lead-in Australia has ever had before participating in one of the world’s greatest sporting events.
For their part, the Socceroos want World Cup qualification out of the way sooner rather than later.
Now that it doesn’t have to be sudden death, they don’t want it to be.
“We don’t want to leave anything to chance,” says Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill.
“We’re so used to playing easy games then having one tough one where it’s do-or-die.
“We’d much rather have the insurance, relax, and let the other teams fight over a do-or-die situation.”
With a fairer qualification system involving regular matches against Asian opposition, the Socceroos continue to leap the hurdles under coach Pim Verbeek.
For so long their fight has been to pinch the very last spot at the World Cup finals, usually against South American opponents after a handful of nothing games against Oceania’s tinpots.
Now in Asia, the Socceroos’ World Cup qualification campaign will stretch at least 14 matches, and Verbeek – a former South Korean national coach with experience in Japan – has guided them expertly.
Unlike Socceroos teams past, luck is with this group.
Two less-than-convincing away performances against Bahrain in November and this week’s Japan game have still netted a win and draw.
The players know Lady Luck is riding shotgun. To a man when, asked about their performance against Japan, they said the same thing: “It wasn’t pretty.”
They’re not kidding. Their past two performances have had buck teeth, freckles and a bad haircut.
Yet they’ve snuck past the doorman, and the velvet rope of South Africa beckons.
“It’s these sort of games you’ve got to grind out the results if you want to make a World Cup, and that’s what we did,” Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina said.
“We’ve got a great feeling among the players.
“We’re confident and we know with a little more preparation we can pull off a better game than the last couple.”
There are plenty of positives, but no shortage of caution as well.
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, the Socceroos hero of the qualifying campaign so far, knows after more than a decade playing for his country that complacency kills.
“Mathematically you know you’re not far off, but you can’t get complacent. There’s four games to go, some good teams to play against,” he said.
“I’m going to be one who makes sure we don’t get complacent. The senior guys, we know what it’s like to play at a World Cup, what a big event it is.
“We want to make create more history by doing it two World Cups in a row.”
In the next series of qualifying games in late March, the Socceroos have a bye. They’ll then know exactly what they must do on April 1 to earn qualification.
In a neat piece of symmetry, the Socceroos’ next World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan is at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium – the same venue they sealed qualification for the 2006 tournament with an unforgettable penalty shootout win.
They also have Harry Kewell and possibly Mark Viduka to return – both having missed the Japan game and Viduka not having played for his country for the past 18 months.
The planets would seem to be aligning.
“We’ve put ourselves in a really positive position,” Socceroos star Tim Cahill said.
“We know the football could have been better.
“It can be frustrating; you want to do more, you want to make things better.
“But you have to play the situation, and we’re all very happy in the change room at the minute.”
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