 This is the Socceroos first World Cup since 1974. The standard of Australian Football is much better these days and the Wizards of Oz are looking to go further than their first round elimination 32 years ago.
After three previous attempts left the Australian team watching the finals Down Under, a two-leg duel against Uruguay that ended in a penalty shoot-out brought the Australians to the long-sought finals. |  Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, known as the Aussies' "German," became a national hero when he stopped two penalty shots, giving Australia a 4:2 win in the pressure cooker final against Uruguay and a ticket to the 2006 World Cup. The 33-year-old's parents left Germany in 1967, but much of Schwarzer's family still lives in Germany, while he plays club soccer in England's Premiership for Middlesbrough. |
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