On the eve of this, what could be some sort of World Cup Alamo for the Socceroos, it is important for us to have a look at how we have stacked up, and I am referring to the entire World Cup process, from Aloisi’s penalty-inspired-nudie-run, until now.
This article is not going to be about grit, or Anzacs, or Pim, or red cards, limb amputation, or refs, or diving. This article is about quantifiable results, that show consistency and the hard slog and grind of what 95% of football is about. This is the work that goes in to the Socceroos shirt, the real work. There has been a lot of focus on this World Cup, but not a lot of it in any real perspective.
Let us start with goals scored. Out of the qualifiers played since the last World Cup, we have scored 17 goals. This gives us a goal average of 1.3 goals a game. If we include our World Cup finals performances in Germany and in South Africa (so far), this drops, but only to 1.21 goals a game.
In contrast to this, in qualifying, we have conceded .3 goals a game. If we include World Cup finals matches in this, it rises to 0.7 goals a game. Most games played, we have not conceded a goal.
In terms of results, looking at qualifiers, we have won eight qualifiers, drawn three, and lost two of our 13 qualifiers. This gives us a winning percentage of 61 per cent, and a losing percentage of 15.38 per cent.
When we include World Cup finals in to this, we see that these change to nine won, five drawn, five lost. This means we have a winning percentage of 47.36 per cent, and a losing percentage of 26.3 per cent. It is obviously the first of these that we need to address, and no matter how we look at it, we need to start scoring more goals.
Whether this is something that needs to be addressed through youth development or tactical development is not an issue I am going to go into here. However, bearing that in mind, if our goal scoring average to date is 1.21 goals a game, and the average to date of this World Cup is 1.96 goals a game scored in total, maybe we are not so far off the mark in modern football.
Finally, we all know who we have beaten, but let’s have a good look at who we have lost to.
First up, Brazil. Our first World Cup loss since “new football” began. Brazil are the five-times world champions, and a country that pumps out players like Manchester City pumps out transfer requests. We lost to them two-nil.
Second loss, Italy. Everyone will say we were robbed, but that is hypothetical and not the point of this piece. They are however, four-times world champions. Again, no shame to lose to them really, even if we were sore.
Third loss, Iraq. Iraq were actually a good side until their Football Federation disbanded, and they did win the Asian Cup. Everyone loses from time to time, and we lost to Iraq.
Fourth loss, China. This was a one-nil loss by a largely inexperienced (internationally) side, and we had already qualified from this round. The result was not important. It could be discarded, without trying to be unfair to the
Chinese who turned up to play.
Fifth loss, Germany. Three-times world champions. We lost four-nil. Everyone knows this story, but the facts are, regardless of the team sheet or anything else, that we conceded the second two goals with a man down. Again, no shame to lose to Germany. I am not going to comment on the manner here, that has been done to death.
Everyone wants to win World Cups. If we don’t believe we can win them we never will. But for all the talk about “the sleeping giant” and becoming a “footballing nation” and other various abstract concepts that sell newspapers, the stone cold, boring, trip-to-Tashkent-in-the-dead-of-the-night-results, the fact that we have a functioning professional league with promotion to the ACL, and our participation rates around the country, show that we are, in fact, a footballing nation.
And that is a wonderful thing.
Michael C
Guest
betcha they reckon Adelaide must be a suburb of Sydney....... ;-) and you can see Ayers Rock from there and it's only a 20 minute drive to the Reef.
Cpaaa
Roar Pro
Pip i played heaps of aussie rules as a kid in the backyard. Kids play what interests them. we see it on tv and we want to try. only problem with aussie rules in the backyard was that the ball went over the fence every time a goal was scored, or missed, and that wasnt fun, so we ended playing football the most. oval ball shapes are not fun on your own or with just two people. you need a pack to make it enjoyable, and another thing why football is played more in the school yard is because you can play anywhere. concrete, grass and inside. the ball stays on the ground and not in the air. it just comes down to fun, everyone can play and on any surface or space. we even put the kid that dosnt want to run in goals
Cpaaa
Roar Pro
... kids also choose whats more fun ;o)
punter
Guest
You are most probably right. But then as a 17 year old it's easier to use your hands to catch a ball & then have a free kick at a goal without anyone protecting it then it is to control it with your chest or feet & then shoot at goal with someone protecting it. Still don't know your point, but yes no big deal.
Al
Guest
I'm sure Aaron Ramsey believes that there is no contact in football!
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Since this despite Pete's best intentions is the closest thing we have to a code war thread at the moment let me be the first to put the tin hat on and blame the AFL for trying to get the Socceroo's win of the front pages. This leadership spill with Julia (Bulldogs fan) Gillard being installed as our new PM is obviosuly MisterFootball's and Andy Demetriou's doing.
dasilva
Roar Guru
No problems Mid
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Mid No worries here either
Mister Football
Roar Guru
You might be right. The point is an obvious one - it's easier to organise scratch matches of soccer for little kids, they can chase a round ball around, kick it, etc It's far easier for a six or seven year old to propel a round ball, rather than an oval one. Six year olds will often struggle to catch a ball, handball it, or even kick it properly out of their hands - it's harder for them than kicking a round ball off the ground. It's not a big deal.
punter
Guest
What's your point? It's far, far easier for a 10 to 14 year old to kick an oval ball than to run into a polynesian twice his size.
MVDave
Guest
Ok l see when kids choose themselves doesnt count...kids enjoy the game because its fun and skilfull. Perhaps the pressure from parents is for the kids to play AFL..not that foreign game. Check the AFL mouthpiece for a recent article on the growth of numbers for the round ball game...interesting reading with councils struggling to provide enough facilities...certainly my experience as a coach...couldnt cater for all the kids that wanted to play.
MVDave
Guest
No probs Mid.
AA
Guest
Harvey, I'll argue my point until I'm blue in the face, I beleive in it, so I don't really care what you make of it. Attack the idea, not the writer next time.
AA
Guest
"The Socceroos? (A good effort to even be there in my humble opinion)." Totally agree.
Baz35
Guest
How old are you? I grew up playing soccer at lunch time (high school early 90's) 80% of the time. My school had soccer goals and no australian football goal posts. Everyone played soccer but followed australian football. Same as now!!! It's funny how the statistics demonstrate equal growth in participation between the australian football and soccer over the last two decades and yet the soccer nuts have "observed" something completely different
So it remains, what of this "primitive" & "boorish sport" interests you so much to discuss it? Your effort belies your disdain.
Midfielder
Guest
Das go back to my previous post they will not let me repeat it.
Gallus
Guest
Mark On what basis do you say that the two rugby codes are in permanent decline in Australia because of the rise of AFL and footballl? You must be an AFL fan from Victoria to say that because no football fan would have the hide to say that. Whatever rugby code one follows Rugby (union) is the second biggest football code in the world and the fastest growing sport in the world. Rugby 7s is now in the Olympics (Rio 2016) and that will integrate rugby union and rugby league more than ever - which is important in Australia, if nowhere else.. There are over 400,000 registered rugby league players in Australia and over 200,000 rugby union players - that is more than registered Australian Rules players. The last Rugby World World Cup in France in 2007 averaged over 47,000 per match (over 48 matches), which was higher than the average for the Football World Cup in Germany in 2006. I think you should be more worried about the so-called Greater Western Sydney Whatevers, which have the potential to halve the interest in AFL in Sydney. And - AFL has no - and will never have - an international dimension.
ptovey01
Roar Pro
And I am not saying anything really bad about soccer. I am only putting forward a side to why Australia is not a football nation and will not reach the same level of support in ths country. Whether I am right or not is for time and the crowd to decide.
dasilva
Roar Guru
sorry about the repetition. I thought it didn't work. I wish The Roar has a delete function