World Cup 2022: Australia's difficult journey
(Baonghean.vn) - The surprising 1-0 victory over Denmark helped the Asian team confidently advance to the round of 16.
To get a ticket to Qatar to attend the biggest football festival on the planet this year, coach Graham Arnold and his team had to go through many difficulties. It should be noted that the Australian team did not compete successfully in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. Mathew Ryan and his teammates had to play 2 play-off matches with the UAE team (won 2-1) and the Peru team (won on penalties).
As soon as the draw for the 2022 World Cup group stage was announced, football fans all thought that Australia's chances of qualifying for the knockout round were not really clear. Because coach Graham Arnold and his team were in the same group with France, Denmark and Tunisia. Apart from the unknown factor of Tunisia, the other two teams were all considered very strong.
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The joy of the Australian team members after winning the right to play in the knockout round. Photo: Reuters |
While France are the defending champions, Denmark have just performed impressively at EURO 2020. On the contrary, Australia has been in serious decline recently. Even in the hands of coach Graham Arnold at the present time, there is no truly outstanding face, like Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka or Tim Cahill.
The crushing 1-4 defeat to France made Australian fans even more pessimistic about the fate of their team in Qatar. However, at the most difficult time, coach Graham Arnold and his team rose up strongly. They defeated Tunisia and Denmark with the same score of 1-0. With 6 points, Australia has officially entered the round of 8 strongest teams.
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Mathew Leckie was the hero for Australia with the only goal against Denmark. Photo: Getty |
Thus, since the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany, the Australian team has passed the group stage. Australia's next opponent is the Argentina team of superstar Lionel Messi. In many aspects, coach Graham Arnold and his team cannot compare with their colleagues from South America, especially in terms of squad quality.
However, in football, the team that is considered stronger does not always win the final match. Once they have overcome Denmark, there is no reason why coach Graham Arnold and his team should not believe in a victory against Argentina - the "defeated team" of Saudi Arabia, the team from Asia.
