Australia at FIFA World Cup: How the Matildas and Socceroos fared in football’s showpiece event
Australia have never won the FIFA World Cup. The men’s best finish is the round of 16 while the women have made it to the semi-finals.
Football
The Australian football team has been a dominant force in Oceania and Asia for quite some time. The likes of Tim Cahill and Sam Kerr in the set-up have only helped Australia take their game to the next level on the global stage, especially at the FIFA World Cup.
Australia co-hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Amidst the pressure and the expectations of the home fans, the Australian women’s football team, the Matildas, reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history.
The Australian men’s football team, fondly called the Socceroos, hasn’t been far behind either. They qualified for the round of 16 at the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2022, only to lose to eventual champions Argentina by a narrow margin of 2-1.
The men’s FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930 and a total of 22 editions have been played so far. The first women’s FIFA World Cup was played much later in 1991 with only nine tournaments held so far. Both men’s and women’s football World Cups are played once every four years.
Despite a steady rise over the past years, the Australian football team hasn't been able to win the FIFA World Cup just yet.
The Australian men’s team qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1974, the 10th edition of the marquee event held in West Germany. Their debut was challenging, marked by losses to the hosts and East Germany but they secured their first-ever point with a goalless draw against Chile.
It took Australia 32 years to feature in the next men’s World Cup. The tournament was once again played in Germany.
Riding on Tim Cahill’s late brace, Australia beat Japan 3-1 in the opening game and secured their first-ever win in the FIFA World Cup. Cahill scored Australia’s first goal at the FIFA World Cup. Further, their remarkable comeback for a 2-2 draw against Croatia ensured their qualification in the round of 16.
Australia moved from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006. They have qualified for each edition - 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 - since then.
Tim Cahill, with five goals in three editions - 2006, 2010 and 2014 - is Australia’s top goal-scorer in the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Australia men’s football team at FIFA World Cup
Just like the Socceroos, the journey of Matildas in the FIFA World Cup was also marked by challenges.
The Australian women’s football team did not qualify for the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by the People’s Republic of China in 1991. However, Australia women have qualified for all the eight subsequent editions held since then.
Their debut at the 1995 edition in Sweden wasn’t great either, losing 5-0 to Denmark in their opening match.
Angela Iannotta scored Australia’s first goal in the women’s FIFA World Cup to equalise against China in the second group game. But China ran away with a 4-2 win at the end. Australia ended their campaign with a 4-1 loss against the USA.
It was in the 2007 FIFA World in China that Australia made it past the group stages for the first time and the Matildas haven’t looked back since then. After three straight quarter-final appearances, Australia were knocked out in the round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France after losing to Norway on penalties.
At the 2023 edition co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the Matildas made the world take notice. They began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Ireland in Sydney. They topped their group before securing a clinical 2-0 win over Denmark and a 7-6 win on penalties against France.
Skipper Sam Kerr’s equaliser against England in the semi-final in the 63rd minute was one of the goals of the tournament but Australia’s dream of a maiden FIFA World Cup title crashed after Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo made it 3-1 for England. The Matildas also fell short in the third-place match against Sweden.
Lisa De Vanna, with seven goals from three editions, is Australia’s top goal-scorer in the football World Cup. Sam Kerr, the current Australian captain, has six from two editions.