Socceroos up to the challenge

Everyone loves to test themselves against the best and the Socceroos are no different.

Everyone loves to test themselves against the best and the Socceroos are no different.

Australia face a challenging task when they tackle five-time world champions Brazil on their own turf in the small hours of Sunday morning (Australian time), but the Socceroos boast a strong record against those nations who have earned football-s greatest prize. Of the eight nations that have been crowned global kings, Australia has defeated all but two; Italy and Spain. Here we review some of the Socceroos golden moments against FIFA World Cup winners.

Uruguay (1974, 1997, 2001, 2005) Any mention of Uruguay will always immediately conjure memories of that unforgettable generation-defining drama that was qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. While that historic evening in Sydney is well documented, it is against the same opponent in the same city 32 years earlier in which Australia knocked over their first former World Cup winner. The ground-breaking win was, however, a bittersweet moment for the Aussies. Second-half goals from Ray Baartz and Peter Ollerton saw the Socceroos home. However the tough encounter was overshadowed by a ‘karate chop- to the neck of star Aussie forward Baartz, ending hopes of his participation in the looming World Cup in Germany and, on doctor-s advice, the Novocastrian never played football again.

In November 1997 Australian football was in mourning following that storied elimination at the hands of Iran, just as a drought-breaking qualification for the World Cup seemed assured. A month later a teenage Harry Kewell continued his stunning entry into international football, and at the same time lifted Australian fan-s spirits, by scoring a golden goal which saw the Socceroos edge past Uruguay and into their only FIFA tournament final at senior level. 90 tense minutes past before Kewell, showing the kind of talismanic qualities which defined the early part of his career, drove a swerving shot from distance into the net for the winner.

In 2001 Australia had what proved to be a kind of dress rehearsal for their more famous win over Uruguay in November 2005. The 1-0 winning scoreline was the same thanks to Kevin Muscat-s late penalty, but the context was very different. Magnificent result that it was, Australia went on to lose the Montevideo return 3-0 and with it came the pain of another World Cup exit. Good things, they say, come to those that wait, and four years later Australia were finally on their way to the world stage again, thanks to Mark Bresciano-s winner and Mark Schwarzer-s spot-kick heroics.

Argentina (1988) The first win over a reigning world champion was perhaps as big a shock to the Aussies at it was to the unsuspecting Argentinians. The four-nation Bicentennial Gold Cup - Brazil and Saudi Arabia also participated - saw Australia needing an unlikely win against La Albiceleste to reach the final. Diego Maradona was absent but a host of other Argentinian World Cup winners from Mexico 1986 took the field against the all-local Aussie XI. Paul Wade scrambled a loose ball home after four minutes only for Oscar Ruggeri to draw Argentina level. In the shadows of half-time Australia captain Charlie Yankos scored with a miraculous long-range strike - perhaps the most spectacular goal in Socceroos history. It was a perfectly timed goal and the Argentinians, now forced to chase the game, fell further behind thanks to a Yankos penalty and Vlado Bozinovski-s header for a 4-1 scoreline that sent shockwaves around the world.

France (2001) Another win over a reigning world champion signalled the start of three famed victories in a single calendar year. France-s star-laden line-up was in imperious form heading into this 2001 Confederations Cup encounter, with the world and European champions dispensing with Korea Republic 5-0 in their opener. Australia held their own and scored with a slice of luck just on the hour mark with Josip Skoko-s free-kick hitting the post, with the rebound tucked away by Clayton Zane. Schwarzer pulled off one of the saves of his career with a last-ditch goalline block, and the quality of the result was confirmed as Les Bleus recovered to win the tournament.

Brazil (2001) Ten days after the France win, Australia repeated the feat this time against an admittedly understrength Brazil. Third place at the Confederations Cup was on the line and, unlucky not to have already taken the lead, Australia went ahead through a Shaun Murphy back-post header seven minutes from full time to cap a remarkably successful tournament for the Green & Gold.

England (2003) Australia win-s over England was perhaps the least significant in football terms, but given the history of sporting rivalry between the two nations, the result is amongst the Socceroos- most celebrated. Australia-s most recent result had been a loss against New Zealand in a match featuring domestic-based players only. Australia-s best XI hadn-t taken the field for some 18 months when they ran out at West Ham-s Upton Park. England made 11 changes at half-time, including the introduction of Wayne Rooney on debut, but by that time they were already 2-0 down. Tony Popovic broke the deadlock with an early header and Kewell scored with a classy finish to the delight of a large Australian contingent at that end. Future Newcastle Jets striker Francis Jeffers pulled a goal back but John Aloisi iced the cake with a late third. For many sports fans with a latent interest in the world game, victory over the arch-rivals was another sign of a fast changing Australian football environment.

Germany (2011) In many ways this result in Monchengladbach was the most surprising of all. Just a year earlier Australia had been swamped by a rampant Germany at the World Cup in South Africa. Despite resting stars such as Mesut Ozil and Philip Lahm, the hosts still put a side packed with quality on the park. Australia, who were also missing some key personnel including Tim Cahill, fell behind to a Mario Gomez strike midway through the first half and the theatre was seemingly being played out as expected. However, David Carney lashed home a 61st minute equaliser, while a Luke Wilkshire penalty three minutes later sealed a famous win for both the Socceroos and their German coach Holger Osieck.