Australia: welcome to the Group of Death, drawn alongside defending champions Spain, 2010 runners-up in the Netherlands as well as South American powerhouse Chile.
Any chances of the Socceroos receiving a soft draw to boost their qualification hopes have been quickly ended.
To qualify from this group, Australia will need to play at a level well above and beyond what they did when they last qualified to the knockout rounds at the 2006 World Cup. They’ll need to play like world champions, against the world champions.
Truth be told, the chances of the Socceroos qualifying from such a group are slim. And that’s putting it mildly — the correct term is probably more like zilch or zero.
Spain have become a dominant force in the last decade under Vicente del Bosque. They’ve triumphed on both the European and world stage, with their tiki-taka style based around possession and quick movement simply infuriating for their opponents to not only try and defend against, but contend against.
La Furia Roja love to press high up the field and force teams into rash passes, and have the potentially to hurt teams on the counterattack as well (although it’s a strength that they don’t tend to utilize all that much). They rank as the best team in the world, and while they were given a touch-up by Brazil at the recent 2013 Confederations Cup Final, they are no doubt one of the favourites this year.
There’s still some concerns about the need for a striker to step up, but with players like Jesus Navas, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas in midfield, there’s certainly no doubt that Spain have plenty of attacking options this year.
The same must also be said for the Netherlands.
Louis van Gaal has introduced a great passing philosophy into his squad since their disappointment at the Euros in 2012, and it’s seen a real increase in their attacking potency as a result. Throughout the European qualification process, the Dutch scored 34 goals and conceded just five in 10 games, with their goal-difference of 29 the greatest among all the teams in European qualification.
Their defense is still susceptible to a moment or two of madness—particularly if their opponents attack the full-backs from wide areas—but with the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie in attack, the Oranje won’t struggle to score goals.
And then there’s Chile.
Chile might seem like the “easier” opponents in this group given the high profile surrounding both Spain and Netherlands, but that’s certainly not the case. The South Americans have improved rapidly over the last 18 months into a very strong football team, and showed when they defeated England at Wembley earlier in 2013.
La Roja have a great mix of counterattacking football and possession, with their likely 3-4-3 formation allowing them plenty of width and attacking outlets. Jorge Sampaoli has instilled great confidence into his men as their results have improved, and Chile are now rarely beaten without putting up an incredibly fight.
In their South American qualifying, Chile finished third — beating Uruguay and drawing with Colombia throughout the qualification process.
It’s also worth noting the huge geographical advantage that Chile have here. South American playing conditions are very different to that in Europe (and Australia as well), and Chile will certainly be more accustomed to the humidity and the travel then what their opponents will. After all, there’s a reason why no European team has ever won the World Cup when it’s been held in South America.
So, all in all, it’s an incredibly tough draw for the Socceroos. As mentioned, their chances of qualification are slim, and while that’s something that leads us naturally to frustration, it’s worth pointing out what a great opportunity this is to measure ourselves against the best teams in world football.
Literally, the best.
Australian football is looking for the chance to grow and measure ourselves on the world stage, and FIFA have now provided us with the chance to do that at the World Cup. Hopefully many of our younger players will get much-needed experience at an international level — which is really all you can ask for next year in Brazil — and that, in turn, will benefit the long-term growth of football in this country.
Predicted finish in the group? 4th. But boy, it’ll be one heck of a ride!
Dm
Guest
Agree
Dm
Guest
Well any group for us could be a group of death We are going through a development stage and losing all 3 games will still be a good thing for the team. Statistic says that the best teams usually start bad at World Cup final stage, so there is a chance
SlickAs
Guest
Can't really agree with that. It would be Australia, Costa Rica and Ghana as the 3 weakest teams in those groups that are the hard done by ones, and no-one would swap with Australia. I think Australia would absolutely love to be in Englands group in place of Costa Rica. It would be a dream group for us. Old foes. Uruguay eliminated us from the 2002 WC in spiteful games where our players were spat upon arriving in the airport at Montevideo, then we eliminated them from 2006. Obviously England are an old foe that we back ourselves against just from mental toughness. And Italy eliminated up with what many believe to be a dive in the final minutes in the 2006 round of 16. It would be "Bring it on" from us to land in such a group.
Simoc
Guest
Agreed. We're privileged to play the best. Hopefully we'll play football and not hack at class players as previous teams have. Unfortunately the coach knows that the CEO plodders don't like 0-4 scorelines as they like to pretend we are better than that. Our goal needs to be getting more knowledgeable people at the top. We have the sales crew pretenders now who make out we are a world class team like that anyone watching has never watched a soccer game before(er football). The current mob obviously know but sell us b /s.
NRL Defender
Guest
Yep if on same points goal difference countd it cost us a final 16 at the last world cup after germany pumped us 4-0
Eddy Bramley
Roar Pro
Australia, England and USA, probably the 3 most hard-done-by nations by the draw.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
The Socceroos' hard-tackling style of play into the hands of the Spaniards and the Dutch -- especially Arjen Robben, who is not noted for his his ability to remain standing for long periods anywhere near the penalty box. He is still my favourite player at the moment though, so I am looking forward to watching him play. My prediction for the last World Cup was that the Socceroos would get more red cards than goals, and we came close. This time it's an absolute certainty! In truth, Australia would be out of place in any of the groups, but it would be lovely to see a draw at some point.
jack
Guest
Agree Peaches. " Relish the opportunity rather than dread it". Enough said.
Evan Askew
Guest
Lol. Go Ange!
jim
Guest
When ange says we're gonna see some good football in this group, I can only read that as meaning with the Socceroos as spectators. Can't see us as having enough skill in attack to be a threat against any of these teams, or even possess the ball for any length of time. Still, with nothing to lose, hopefully we aren't totally crunched.
ah
Guest
Chile is not a South American "powerhouse"... There really is no group of death in this draw. Groups B, D + G are about equally tough. Group C is probably the easiest.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
yes argies and French are pretty happy. Provided they top their pool, they will play the 2nd of the other pool in the round of 16, i.e. Bosnia or Nigeria for France, maybe the swiss for the argies, not too bad. Have been reading Deschamps and his players reactions all morning and they are obviously 'pretty happy' although with the history we have in WC (2010-2002) caution is 'de rigueur'. Plus we have a little rivalry with our swiss neighbours so all in all it's not that bad.
MelbCro
Guest
yes, thank you Platini for undermining the sport once again.
Steve
Guest
Agree, Costa Rica have a tough draw, but ours is still harder.
Steve
Guest
Oh and from an Aussie perspective, I think it's a great chance for Ange to send out a few youngsters and say to not only make your country proud, but try to impress the global scouts. Playing against such big teams means the exposure will be massive for our players. A good defensive performance from a young gun against a Spain or Netherlands, a great goalkeeping, or a couple of well taken goals from a young striker performance could see the big European clubs pick them up. And that WOULD benefit Australia in the long run. The likes of Langerak/Ryan, Williams, Spiranovic should perform out of their skin to demand selection, and then do the same at the WC. Not saying it will happen, but if a defender was to keep RVP quiet, it could alter their career trajectory exponentially. A few of the really big clubs are quite light at the back (Man City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Dortmund). No point playing the old timers. We thank them for their contribution in the past, but the sides we have drawn means the youngsters have to be given a go with a point to prove, since their is little chance we will actually progress. That's not being pessimistic, it's just being realistic.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Agree Matt. I really hope Japan goes as far as possible. Am also curious to see what kind of support they get there from the rather big Japanese diaspora in Brazil.
Peaches
Guest
I wake-up to see we have Chile, the Netherlands and Spain in our World Cup group. The media gets it's group of death and the players get their opportunity to play a few of the best players and teams in the world. Aussie fans have given up but I hope the team hasn't. There's no point in making a World Cup and praying for a generous group to get out of the group stage. You always want to play the best and this is an opportunity to show the Aussie spirit. Relish the opportunity rather then dread it. Make a name for yourself.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
merci Michel Platini ;)
Steve
Guest
Argentina's bogey team, Germany, will most likely be on the opposite side of the draw, assuming both Argentina and Germany top their Groups. This is good for the Argies. Argentina also have a pretty good 2nd round draw. Also, if Portugal come second to Germany, there is a chance Argentina play Portugal in the QF. Messi v. Ronaldo in the quarters of a WC could send Twitter into meltdown. Brazil will almost certainly have a tough game in the 2nd round, likely Spain or Netherlands. It's quite possible Germany, Spain and Brazil end up in the same half of the draw. Belgium, who many people seem to rate highly, will have a tough game in Round 2 even if they win their group. The other dark horse Colombia also has a tough prospect in Round 2 if they make it out. There are many fascinating permutations, it's going to be a fantastic WC. I think Argentina will be the happiest, not only with the Group they were drawn in but also the possibilities for Round 2 and QF.
Aljay
Guest
I agree we have always been up against it, but I think this time we have the hardest three opponents of any team. I don't think any of the other 31 nations would swap their draw for ours given the chance. Costa Rica is the only one that would look at it twice, but they would still say no.