Australia’s ‘routine and inevitable’ qualification for the 2014 World Cup finals has upset some of the Kiwis, who are casting long and languorous looks towards Bondi’s golden beaches. The All Whites are turning green.
Some noted Kiwi sports journalists are even lamenting that Asia has been allocated too many automatic FIFA World Cup finals places.
Adding that Oceania should be given its own automatic FIFA World Cup Qualification spot, instead of a miserly half or even quarter ticket.
In terms of member nations and population, Asia is the strongest of FIFA’s football confederations and gets four automatic places at FIFA World Cup Finals tournaments.
Astute businessman and Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy appreciated the value of safety in numbers and did all he could on the FIFA political stage to get Australia into the Asian Football Confederation.
That decision is now paying off handsomely for the FFA.
Previously, in many FIFA delegates eyes, failure was seen as inevitable for relatively small Oceania football nations like Australia and New Zealand.
Their lowly place in world football’s pecking order needed to be maintained, until of course we became part of Asia.
However, Asia is also quite arguably, one of the weakest FIFA football confederations in terms of results on the international football field.
All things being equal, the World Cup finals should be for the host nation as automatic qualifiers, and the top 31 football nations in the world to make up the 32 contestants.
Japan is ranked 32 in the world, South Korea 40 and Australia 47, yet they now seem to have a ‘stranglehold on World Cup tickets’.
Those football nations ranked higher than us who continually fail to qualify, are also not amused.
Like it did to Australia, I’m sure FIFA has assured the New Zealand Football Association that it will do everything in its powers to rectify the injustice.
If necessary, they’ll have to form FIFA committees and send them on ‘fact finding missions’ and ‘facilities evaluations’ across Oceania to get to the bottom of it, or more likely the bottom of the brown paper bag stuffed with Swiss Francs.
Australians know how FIFA delegates are capable of not honouring their promises or not volunteering the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The Kiwis also argue that the Socceroos of 2013 can’t hold a candle to the teams that played in the 2006 or even the 2010 World Cup finals, yet they are on their way to an historic third-straight World Cup Finals appearance and in fabulous Brazil of all places.
The All Whites (ranked 57th) qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals after winning the Oceania qualifying group and beating Asia’s fifth-ranked nation, Bahrain, 1-0, in a home and away inter-continental playoff.
They also achieved the international distinction at South Africa 2010 of not losing a single game at that tournament and yet still not progressing past the first round.
In the past, the Oceania champions have faced off against strong and proud football nations from the South American confederation (CONMEBOL) like World Cup winners Argentina and Uruguay, North American champions and even Scotland at one time.
Pairing the Oceania champions against the fifth-best Asian country seems a fairer fight.
Why not even combine the Asian Confederation with Oceania into an Asia Pacific Football Confederation with five automatic World Cup Qualification spots and give the New Zealanders and American Samoans the same odds as us?
FIFA conducted a ‘fair and random’ draw, and the owner of the ‘lucky’ marble selected to play New Zealand belonged to CONCACAF (comprising North America, Central America and the Caribbean).
Currently New Zealand’s opponents from CONCACAF for one of the remaining Brazil 2014 World Cup places looks like being either Honduras or Panama.
That game looks well within the All Whites reach, especially over two legs home and away on the 13th and 20th November 2013, so maybe our cross-Tasman neighbours shouldn’t be complaining so much, eh?
The fifth-placed AFC nation (Jordan or Uzbekistan) has a bigger mountain to climb.
They have to play the fifth placed CONMEBOL team for one of the last remaining places at the Brazil 2014 supper table.
That means Uruguay, Chile or Venezuela, who are all ranked above Australia, so thank goodness we are already safely qualified from the AFC.
I’ve always learnt from bitter experience never to underestimate a New Zealand sporting team.
Best of luck to the All Whites and let’s hope it’s a box of budgies, and the Land of the Long White Cloud gets another football World Cup silver lining and stops complaining about the Aussies going to Brazil.
marinator
Guest
For New Zealand football to progress, they have to join Asia. Better competition will always make you strive higher in sport and sticking with Oceania will mean their standards can never really improve.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Current standings with 4 games to go United States 6 4 1 1 7 3 +4 13 Costa Rica 6 3 2 1 7 3 +4 11 Mexico 6 1 5 0 3 2 +1 8 Honduras 6 2 1 3 6 7 −1 7 Panama 6 1 3 2 5 7 −2 6 Jamaica 6 0 2 4 2 8 −6 2
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Yep of course we do, but its funny how the Kiwis always like to have a go at the Aussies and vice versa. I wonder if they qualify, can we end up in the same group and which pot of marbles they will be in - Oceania, Asia or Concacaf?
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Yes, agree melange that the FIFA rankings are a little dodgy at the best of times and Columbia a surprise currently ranked 3. Its just that a lot of countries use them to say that they should be in the WC finals and not Australia.
Robbie
Roar Pro
Everybody knows FIFA rankings are a joke
Matthew Skellett
Guest
Actually correction there Panama drew with Mexico and are playing each other again on the 25 th :-)
Matthew Skellett
Guest
And anyway Panama beat Mexico in the pool rounds of the Concacaf Gold Cup so watch out NZ!!!! :-)
cantab
Guest
I don't think anyone is... we are crazy lucky with the system we have now,
Marto
Guest
As a kiwi I've not met a single one of that is jealous of Aussie. I support both nations at football. This article needs to get its facts right.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
Yeah we in Oz want to see NZ qualify so there Bro :-)
Ralph Nadeer
Roar Rookie
What’s to complain about. Australia had to go through two rounds, 16 qualification matches, each one of them a chance of losing, especially the away games. Kiwi’s just had to beat New Caledonia and now two legs home and away against Panama. Every chance to join us in Brazil mate,eh.
Melange
Guest
Whether you like it or not, the world cup isn't designed to be a competition for the best 32 teams in the world. It's designed to be a competition between all continents. Make it for the top 31 (other then the host) nations in the world and FIFA will always just rig the rankings so the traditional powers are in the top 32. You can't base an argument on FIFA rankings. They were flawed back in 2006 when USA went into the WC with a ranking of 3 in the world, FIFA recognised this and changed the formula. Because they still take a historical look at results, the new rankings are only just starting to work themselves out, as we can see by England losing their ridiculous mortgage on a top 10 spot. Just looking at the teams from 11-30, I would back Australia, Japan, South Korea to beat any of them.on any given day (admittedly I'd back them with more conviction if the squad had been rejuvenated over the last couple of years). I do agree that the make up of confedrations should change, NZ as by far the biggest nation has restricted opportunity to progress when regularly playing thieir internationals against substandard opposition. Split the AFC into East and West and put Oceana into West Asia.
striker
Guest
NZ should be happy, when we were in oceania we had to play the likes of Uruguay twice,Argentina to qualify, id take panama,Hondurus any day over the asia group.
Cantab
Guest
I haven't heard or read anything where NZ is complaining about Austraila making the WC, I don't really know why we would; though I'll certainly take your word that's its happend. It's true Asia has more spots than it should, but of course so does Oceania. I imagine there would be 32 teams in Europe and South America which are better than us (NZ). I'd put our chances at 40% of going through...unless we end up playing Mexico, who seem pretty reluctant to snap up an Automatic qualifying spot. Moving to Asia has been a great move for Aust largely because of the exposure/experience they get by playing serious qualifying games.