Five defining moments in Australia’s World Cup

With the group stage of the World Cup behind us, 16 teams have left South Africa wondering where it all went wrong. Unfortunately Australia was one of those teams. In sitting down and reflecting on their exit I came up with five key moments that decided Australia’s fate.

1. Pim Verbeek’s failed tactical experiment

There has been a lot of negative press about Pim’s tactical decisions against Germany. I’m not going to spend a great deal of time on analysing the tactics, the brilliant Zonal Marking does a great job of that here. Instead I want to talk about it’s impact. You probably couldn’t have envisaged a worse result. Australia were well beaten in every aspects and it left them with a huge mountain to climb in order to qualify. A mountain which ultimately proved to be insurmountable.

On the flip side though I feel hitting rock bottom generated a siege mentality in the Australian camp which contributed to their positive performances against Serbia and Ghana. It unleashed the Australian spirit if you will.

2. Tim Cahill’s red card

Sure Pim’s tactics backfired against the Germans but you know what? The Aussie’s actually came out much improved in the second half and they may have been able to escape with a 2-0 defeat, then Tim Cahill got sent off. Given the terrible first half performance, the red card was the catalyst for a complete meltdown. With the Aussies shellshocked, Germany punished them with two quick goals and the end result, a 4-0 defeat which ultimately would cost Australia a place in the last sixteen.

3. Harry Kewell’s red card

After the German result the Aussie camp got right behind each other. You could sense a steely determination within the camp to make amends and prove themselves worthy of being at the World Cup. This was really evident in the way the Aussie’s started against Ghana. It was a complete contrast to the German game. Organised in defence, composed in possession and dangerous going forward. They scored early and looked capable of dispatching Ghana quite comfortably. Then Harry got himself sent off with his subtle goal stopping hand ball. Deserved or not, it made the task that much harder for the Socceroos.

4. Luke Wilkshire’s miss

Despite Kewell’s red card, Australia were still the better team against Ghana. The Ghanians spent most of the second half on the back foot as Australia pushed forward for a winner. There was no better chance than Luke Wilkshire’s one on one chance with ten minutes to go. The harsh reality is that Australia would be preparing for a round of 16 clash against the USA if Luke had scored.

5. Schwarzer’s fumbled save

Australia are 2-0 against Serbia, needing another two goal swing to qualify. With roughly fifteen minutes to go there was enough time for the Aussie’s to press and score those vital goals. Then poor old Mark Schwarzer who’d made some great saves to keep Serbia goalless spills an easy ball and Serbia score. Would the Aussie’s have qualified if he hadn’t made the mistake? Maybe, maybe not. What is certain is that this was the moment where the dream finally died.

Collectively these key moments steered Australia to an early exit which perhaps on the balance of play they probably didn’t deserve.