World Cup Qualification Thread for 2026 - Socceroos/Asia

[Lupi]

Why limit it to last 20 years, I've been watching for 50 years & Australian Football sport's admin has been useless.
Please tell me when it was good or when we had outside of Kewell or Dukes world class players.

It was never good however there was notable improvement from the early 80s up until the early 00s when there were several Australians playing in top leagues. Meanwhile Australia's population has almost doubled since the 80s and the level of football is the worst I can remember.

 

[Robbos]

It was never good however there was notable improvement from the early 80s up until the early 00s when there were several Australians playing in top leagues. Meanwhile Australia's population has almost doubled since the 80s and the level of football is the worst I can remember.

Are you talking players or administration. The administration was extremely poor 90s to 00s, so many agendas.
As for the players, they did well despite of the administration.
However, the Barcelona led tika Tak football left a lot of the physical football countries behind, not just Australia.

 

[WhatAmIWatching]

Lol Kiwis 4-0 up after 30 mins in their hardest game to qualify for the World Cup against Fiji. They host New Caledonia Monday, winner is in and loser is into inter contintental playoff. I assume they will win 10-0 or something, surely Oceania has to merge with Asia.

If the world was fair the Asian confederation would be split in two: west & east, with the east confederation swallowing Oceania. The South American confederation would have reduced number of spots as they have the least number of countries with Africa and the two Asian confederations gaining some of those spots.

 

[Lupi]

Are you talking players or administration. The administration was extremely poor 90s to 00s, so many agendas.
As for the players, they did well despite of the administration.
However, the Barcelona led tika Tak football left a lot of the physical football countries behind, not just Australia.

players

administration has simply gone from small time ineptitude to big time corporate ineptitude

the current generation of Australian players have the worst of both worlds, they're neither physical nor can they perform basic skills like trapping a ball and sticking a pass consistently...let alone dribbling past an opponent

 

[Robbos]

players

administration has simply gone from small time ineptitude to big time corporate ineptitude

the current generation of Australian players have the worst of both worlds, they're neither physical nor can they perform basic skills like trapping a ball and sticking a pass consistently...let alone dribbling past an opponent

Yep can't disagree there.

However, the current generation won in the last WC as many matches as the GG did in 3 WCs.

 

[huddo]

players

administration has simply gone from small time ineptitude to big time corporate ineptitude

the current generation of Australian players have the worst of both worlds, they're neither physical nor can they perform basic skills like trapping a ball and sticking a pass consistently...let alone dribbling past an opponent

Hey guys, Lupi is making outlandish, hyperbolic statements again.

 

[Lupi]

Yep can't disagree there.

However, the current generation won in the last WC as many matches as the GG did in 3 WCs.

context

they parked the bus and got lucky against a couple of underwhelming opponents with the aid of some imports, notably the Scottish lug at centre half

the only thing they got right was play to a tactic that suited their limitations which didn't occur in 2014

 

[TheSelectFew]

context

they parked the bus and got lucky against a couple of underwhelming opponents with the aid of some imports, notably the Scottish lug at centre half

the only thing they got right was play to a tactic that suited their limitations which didn't occur in 2014

Learn to play to your strengths.

No point playing tiki taka bs if you don't have the players for the system.

 

[huddo]

context

they parked the bus and got lucky against a couple of underwhelming opponents with the aid of some imports, notably the Scottish lug at centre half

the only thing they got right was play to a tactic that suited their limitations which didn't occur in 2014

We didn't park the bus vs Tunisia, we did play defensive counter attack though, the stats show this.

41% possession, 9 shots, that ain't parking the bus.

 

[Lupi]

so I asked Grok how many registered association football players in Australia?

Research suggests there are approximately 640,234 registered association football players in Australia, based on the latest 2024 data.

...which is a growth of ~200k since 2005

how many registered association football players in Croatia?

The evidence leans toward there being around 111,726 registered association football players in Croatia, as reported by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in the country. This number likely includes both amateur and professional players registered with the federation, reflecting the sport's popularity in Croatia, especially given its strong national team performances in recent World Cups.

Croatia have abundantly more quality footballers than Australia does, national team performances aside which are in another stratosphere. Remembering this is a nation the Socceroos qualified ahead of in 2006 WC from the same group.

but AFL and mainstream media is the problem right...

 

[Lupi]

We didn't park the bus vs Tunisia, we did play defensive counter attack though, the stats show this.

41% possession, 9 shots, that ain't parking the bus.

you're splitting hairs champ

 

[huddo]

you're splitting hairs champ

Not really, a low block doesn't get you 41% of the ball

 

[Veritas]

players

administration has simply gone from small time ineptitude to big time corporate ineptitude

the current generation of Australian players have the worst of both worlds, they're neither physical nor can they perform basic skills like trapping a ball and sticking a pass consistently...let alone dribbling past an opponent

Thinks about team that won U20 Asian Cup . . . shakes head . . .

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

sorry but this just isn't true

I don't know where you get this idea he's dominating Scotland from... he's just an average player at Hibs, which is his level and he hasn't been excellent against Celtic and Rangers. He barely touched the ball in the recent cup game.

I feel like this is trolling but I'll bite...

Triantis has something like 5 MOTM ratings (fotmob) from his last 11 matches. There are commentators in Scotland saying he is the number one reason for Hibs outstanding form since Xmas and other commentators suggesting he's the best player in the whole of the SPL right now.

The Sunderland fans are salivating at the prospect of getting him into their colours next year while the Hibs fans are devastated at the prospect of him leaving.

But sure, go on believing he's average.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

So are most of the people talking him up. With maybe a couple of exceptions, no one is actually watching him play every week.

I read the Hibs forum and watch the highlights of every match. He's doing brilliantly - according to ALL of the Hibs fans.

 

[NoMates]

Did anyone watch the Saudi v China match? How did China play considering they were a man down by half time they only had the one goal go in against them. Should we be worried?

 

[Lupi]

I feel like this is trolling but I'll bite...

Triantis has something like 5 MOTM ratings (fotmob) from his last 11 matches. There are commentators in Scotland saying he is the number one reason for Hibs outstanding form since Xmas and other commentators suggesting he's the best player in the whole of the SPL right now.

The Sunderland fans are salivating at the prospect of getting him into their colours next year while the Hibs fans are devastated at the prospect of him leaving.

But sure, go on believing he's average.

he's nowhere near the best player in the SPL. this is laughable... who are these commentators saying this?

 

[Lupi]

Not really, a low block doesn't get you 41% of the ball

its fucking Tunisia ...get a grip

 

[huddo]

its fucking Tunisia ...get a grip

Mate, your the one making the statement. I'm just pointing out how illogical it is.

 

[huddo]

he's nowhere near the best player in the SPL. this is laughable... who are these commentators saying this?

Well noting the recognition he's getting and the fact Hibs have not lost a league match since July, id say even if you don't agree with it, the argument is pretty compelling.