With their graduation into Asia complete, the Socceroos are about to find out if they really belong at the top of the class.
Having completed a full World Cup cycle since joining the confederation in 2006, Australia have become well versed in the intricacies of Asian football, leaving no room for excuses when the 2011 Asian Cup kicks off in Qatar on Saturday.
The learning curve has been steep but the Socceroos believe they’re considerably wiser now than in 2007, when their maiden Asian Cup campaign ended in disappointing quarter-final exit after struugling through the group stages.
“Hopefully we’ve learned a lot since then,” goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said of the heart-breaking penalties loss to Japan.
“We’ve had a World Cup campaign under our belts now and we know what it’s like to travel to all parts of Asia.
“We’ve played in Qatar a number of times and we’ve played many of the opponents we will be facing a number of times before.
“To a large degree, we now know what to expect.”
Listed 26th in the world ahead of Japan (29) and South Korea (40), the, FIFA’s rankings suggest Australia are front runners in Asian football.
But star midfielder Tim Cahill believes proving it with a squad blending old hands and an influx of fresh talent will be their greatest challenge.
“I think it’s going to be the hardest job probably we’ve ever had to face as a team because we haven’t played together loads this Australian team,” Cahill said.
“We need to be aware of the fact that some of these countries have been together for a while and they’re very familiar.
“I’m not someone that’s going to say we’re going to walk in this Asian Cup. If we are going to lift it, it’s going to take a hell of a lot of work.”
Such is Australia’s degree of caution, they are openly wary ahead of Tuesday morning’s (AEDT) first match against India, the tournament’s rank outsider and predicted whipping boys.
While it would be hard to fathom anything but an Australian victory, the strength of the performance could prove crucial, with many tipping goal difference could play a part in deciding a strong Group C also featuring heavyweights South Korea and an unpredictable Bahrain.
Progression from the group would then mean a quarter-final clash with a side from Group D, comprising of defending champions Iraq, Iran, North Korea and UAE, with the likes of Japan or Saudi Arabia possibility waiting in the semis.
Whatever course Australia’s tournament takes, there will be no shortage of motivation among the playing group.
There is plenty at stake for the likes of Scott McDonald, Nathan Burns, Sasa Ognenovski and a host of other new faces eager to prove they belong on the international stage.
For the rest there’s a chance to erase the disappointments of the last Asian Cup and the recent World Cup in South Africa while the tournament also represents a final chance for members of the Socceroos’ “golden generation” to collect some silverware to show for their success.
With Cahill, Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell all on the wrong side of 30, the squad is set to undergo a rejuvenation prior to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Regardless of what happens in Qatar, the group will be remembered for ushering in a new era for Australian football but a major title would put a deserved exclamation mark on their achievements.
“For me it would mean everything,” Cahill said.
“I think because of where we started in football and where I started the journey, being Oceania and getting to World Cups.
“Potentially having the chance of winning something like this is massive.”
There will arguably be as much interest off the field as there will on in Qatar, with the gulf nation’s hosting of the tournament set to come under the microscope after they controversially won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
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