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A 1-1 draw with Japan was ultimately a fair result for the Socceroos and keeps Australia in the hunt for World Cup qualification. The question now is how to get fans to turn up at the final two qualifying games.
For nine glorious minutes, it looked as though Holger Osieck’s team might do what many thought impossible and beat the Samurai Blue in front of their vociferous fans.
A stubborn defensive performance lead – not for the first time – by 40-year-old goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had kept Japan’s attack at bay, before Tommy Oar’s hopeful cross-shot arched improbably over Eiji Kawashima and into the top corner.
Cue a surge of optimism that Australia’s gut-wrenching attempts to negotiate the fourth round of Asian qualifying hadn’t been in vain, before Matt McKay’s outstretched hand brought us crashing back down with a thumping dose of reality.
The equation is now thus: take six points from the final two qualifiers against Jordan in Melbourne and Iraq in Sydney and Socceroos fans can start blowing up their beach balls in readiness for Copacabana Beach.
Anything less conjures a whole other bunch of permutations.
In a way, it’s practically a dream scenario for Football Federation Australia from a marketing standpoint because they now need to do very little to try and ‘sell’ the final two qualifiers to the general public.
Two games that some might reasonably have expected to be dead rubbers have suddenly taken on the utmost significance.
There are many things Australia can learn from Japanese football, one being that teams tend to be inspired by playing in front of big crowds – a fact which shouldn’t be lost on anyone who watched the Socceroos’ turgid 2-2 draw with Oman last March.
And with the Japanese fans their usual deafening selves on Tuesday night, it’s time for Australian supporters to once again pack out our own grounds and turn up the volume.
To that end, it’s a good thing next Tuesday’s match against Jordan is being played in Melbourne.
The passionate event-going public of this sports-mad city is likely to turn out en masse for one of the most significant World Cup qualifiers Melbourne has hosted since another Asian team in Iran knocked Australia out in 1997.
Docklands might be an unloved ground at the best of times, but it’s certainly a more intimate venue than the Melbourne Cricket Ground and in this case its higher capacity than AAMI Park is justified.
Any doubts about Jordan’s toughness are readily dispelled by the fact the Middle Eastern outfit beat the Socceroos 2-1 in Amman last September.
It’s been no surprise to see practically everyone involved with the national team spruiking tickets for this clash, from Socceroos’ social media tweeting about ticket sales around six seconds after full-time in Saitama, to the likes of Lucas Neill and Mark Milligan practically begging fans to turn up.
A harder sell might be the final clash against Iraq in Sydney – mainly because it’s at the cavernous Olympic Stadium in Homebush.
Should Australia claim all three points against Jordan, FFA would do well to draw a parallel between qualifying for Brazil against Iraq with the unforgettable scenes eight years earlier against Uruguay at the same venue.
The problem there is one of familiarity – that Uruguay squad included names like Lugano, Forlan and the irrepressible Alvaro Recoba – whereas most Socceroos supporters would be hard-pressed to name a single Iraqi player.
That’s a fact which is not going to change any time soon, so selling these games as the chance to be part of history is an obvious thing to do.
The advent of the new Terrace Australis supporter group is proof that the need for noisy, active support of the national team has officially been recognised.
Fans now have the chance to play their part in two of Australia’s most important qualifiers in years.
Now all FFA needs to do is ensure they turn up.