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For five days last October, Australian football fans dared to ask whether the Socceroos had rekindled the form of the 2006 “golden generation”.
They had just beaten Oman 3-1 to maintain their perfect start on the path to 2022 World Cup, winning 11 successive qualifiers to set a FIFA world record and, more importantly, sit top of their group ahead of heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Japan. Days later, they would be in Saitama to play Japan – a team they had never beaten away from home. Instead of a cautious approach, Socceroos coach Graham Arnold beat his chest.
“The Japanese no doubt have all the pressure on them because they have only won one game out of three,” Arnold said after the Oman win. “Every time we step out on the field we expect to win the game ... and we will do that again on Tuesday.”
Samurai Blues: The Socceroos’ loss in Saitama sparked their downfall. Credit:Getty
If success is all that separates confidence from arrogance, the 2-1 defeat Australia suffered in Japan should have been humbling. According to former Socceroos captain and Network Ten commentator Mark Milligan, it also should have been foreseen.
“If I am totally honest, [the winning streak] probably paved over a few cracks,” Milligan said. “When we came up against Japan, they just exposed a few of the frailties.”
That match sparked the downfall of the Socceroos’ hopes of automatic qualification. After romping past Taiwan, Kuwait, Nepal, China, Jordan and Vietnam on their record-breaking run, Australia won just one of their last seven qualifiers and none against the top two sides in their group. Before the match in Saitama, Australia were top of their group. After their next match against Japan six months later, they slumped to third and were consigned to the intercontinental play-offs before the group stage had even finished.
Their four games against Japan and Saudi Arabia were an acid test that showed few signs of gold in this generation of the Socceroos. One draw, three defeats, one goal scored and none from open play confirmed fears within the football fraternity that Australia’s player development had fallen behind the pace of its rivals.
“How many points did we take points off Japan and Saudi? One point out of 12. There you go,” former Socceroo Alex Brosque said. “A team like Saudi Arabia has improved while we have been in a steady decline since 2006.”