stupid Australia (Group F)

Team founded: 1961 (affiliated: 1963)d

World Cup Participations: once previous, 1974

World Cup Honors: none

Titles: Oceania Champions (1980, 1996, 2000)

Coach: Guus Hiddink (nationality: Dutch), who will take over as Russian coach after the tournament.

Team Captain: Mark Viduka

The Squad:
Goalkeepers:
Brad Jones
Michael Petkovic
Mark Schwarzer

Defenders:
Michael Beauchamp
Mark Milligan
Patty Kisnorbo
Lucas Neill (Blackburn Rovers, England)
Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace, England)

Midfielders:
Marco Bresciano (Parma, Itlay)
Tim Cahill (Everton, England)
Scott Chipperfield (Basel, Switzerland)
Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England)
Vince Grella (Parma, Italy)
Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham City, England
Josip Skoko (Stoke City on loan from Wigan Athletic, England)
Mile Sterjovski (Basel, Switzerland)
Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City, England)

Forwards:
John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain)
Josh Kennedy (Dynamo Dresden, Germany)
Harry Kewell (Liverpool, England)
Archie Thompson (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England)

Ranking: 44

Qualifiers: Made it to Germany via a shootout over its old rival, Uruguay, in the second game of their qualifier play-off, thanks in large part to two miracle saves by Middlesbrough goalie Mark Schwarzer, who is battling injury – a fractured cheekbone – to continue his role in the Cup.

Schedule:
June 12 v Japan (Kaiserslautern) W 3-1
June 18 v Brazil (Munich)
June 22 v Croatia (Stuttgart)

The Odds: In its first Cup finals since 1974, the Aussies could advance if they beat Japan or Croatia, or both, as they may well. Then, Australia would not need to hope that Brazil will relax with it in a draw, and it can enjoy being played for a win. The Socceroos squad is stacked with players who hold their own in European leagues, so they are no pushovers; bonus points for being coached, since just July, 2005, by the masterful Guus Hiddink, who steered South Korea so far in 2002, and himself called Australia's chances of making the Cup "almost mission impossible." Their hopes rest with the likes of Liverpool winger Harry Kewell and Everton midfielder Tim Cahill (knee), both injury-challenged. They have also lost veteran Tony Vidmar (NAC Breda, Netherlands) due to an irregular heart rhythm.