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2010 World Cup: Australia’s Extra Motivations To Make An Impact

Angela Asante, June 3 2010,
For each of the 32 participating nations, the 2010 FIFA World Cup represents something special and different compared to previous editions. The very fact that the tournament will be staged in South Africa for the first ever time in the record of the sport already makes it special and gives more motivation for contenders to create history.

Australia players celebrate their qualification to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

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Related Articles: 2010 World Cup, Australia, Socceroos
For Australia, who have been drawn in Group D with Serbia, Ghana, and favorites Germany, the 2010 World Cup will offer the country the opportunity to develop as a nation fascinated by football. The Socceroos seem to have quite a balanced chance of surviving the group stages in South Africa considering the caliber of their opponents. Besides, their high level of desire to avenge their bitter exit four years ago seems to have opened their prospects of making the most of their participation at the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Australia’s 2006 World Cup group vs Australia’s 2010 World Cup group

Thinking quickly, it looks like Australia’s table at the 2010 World Cup presents fewer difficulties than the one in which they were sectioned at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Australia have avoided Brazil who cruelly defeated them 2-0 in Round 1 four years back. The Socceroos also had to combat the likes of Europe’s fierce side Croatia and of Asian rivals Japan in Germany. Against the odds, Australia stunned the world by qualifying as runners-up of their group at the expense of Croatia who were expected to reach the knock-out stages of the competition.

 

Now analyzing Group D, Socceroos supporters will certainly have reasons to believe in Australia’s chances to evade the anguishing fate of exiting from the group states at the 2010 World Cup. Certainly, Germany will come up as the hardest of oppositions in the table. Still, this doesn’t automatically mean that the Australians will steal no points from their fixture against the 2006 World Cup hosts.

The match that they’ll feel they can win is the one against Ghana. Yes, the Angola 2010 silver medalists have been tipped by many as favorites to progress from Group D alongside Germany. The reason behind this prediction has mainly been based around the assessment of Ghana’s improvement and success since 2006. Also, Ghana are expected to take advantage of the ‘African soil’ factor. However, Australia possess the best record against Ghana in terms of head-to-head.

The Socceroos experienced two friendly meetings against the Black Stars over the past few years. On aggregate, they came 2-1 on top. Australia are actually no strangers to Ghana’s style of playing football. They’ve pierced the Black Stars’ defense twice. Ironically, the only Ghanaian player who scored against the Socceroos, Junior Agogo, will not feature at the 2010 World Cup for Black Stars. Australia therefore have the reasonable right to believe that Ghana could make them a favor.

Now Serbia could prove very tricky and stubborn. But perhaps, they won’t threaten the Australians more than Croatia did during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. In general, the Socceroos don’t need to fear so much ahead of their group stage adventure in South Africa this summer. Above all, the experience they acquired four years ago should serve them as a platform going into their second consecutive World Cup finals.

Australia’s Case Of Revenge

Since June 2006, Australia’s national football team and soccer fans have been living with resentment. Australians look back at their World Cup campaign in Germany with pride and bitterness at the same time. Their journey brutally came to an end, and it wasn’t without controversy. Bluntly, the Socceroos were robbed by eventual winners Italy. They looked so close to creating history by reaching the Last 8 of the tournament at the expense of the Azzurri.

However, all their hard work came down to nothing when the referee on the day wrongly awarded Italy with a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. AS Roma’s Francesco Totti, who hasn’t been included in Italy’s 2010 FIFA World Cup roster, gun downed the Socceroos from the spot kick. This meant the end of the road for Australia who then vowed to return stronger. Motorized by their wild desire to avenge their short 2006 World Cup campaign, the Australians made it to South Africa 2010. This summer, they’ll once again use their fierce determination of avenging themselves for more motivation.
 

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