Australia World Cup 2006

Country - Australia
Capital City - Canberra
Continent - Oceania
Manager - Guus Hiddink
Captain - Mark Viduka
Star Man - Tony Vidmar

How did they qualify - Beating Uraguay in a play off After topping the second round Oceania table Australia National Football squad had to face Uraguay in the play-offs to gain their entry to the world cup finals in Germany 2006. After a full game then extra time the match ended in penalties. A nail biting time for the Australians but they managed to clinch their place in the world cup beating Uruguay 4-2. For the first time in 32 years the Australians have reached the finals.

Now that they have qualified the Socceroos are trying to arrange a few friendly matches against some of Europe's finest teams to gain some knowledge and experience of opposing teams that they will have to face in 2006. Some of the teams on their friendly list are Greece, Croatia and Holland.

Since the national team was formed they have only qualified for the world cup finals once but were knocked out in round 1. Just making it to the finals is a massive achievement for the team but they are hoping to improve their game and storm through the finals.

The badge and Aussie squad are detailed here for you to get to know.

Buy the Official team shirt