History
Australia have appeared at the World Cup finals just twice. Their debut came in 1974 - the team was all amateurs and were far from embarrassed despite a first-round exit. Their latest World Cup (Germany 2006) proved a success with Australia finishing second in their group behind Brazil and ahead of Croatia and Japan. It took a penalty deep into injury-time for Italy to overcome the Socceroos in the second round and continue their run to the crown.

Qualification
Australia topped both groups in the two-stage Asian qualifying campaign, reaching the finals with ease. Defeats to Iran and China in the first phase left the Socceroos level on points with Qatar after all six games, but they topped the group on goal difference, picking up an all-important seeded place for the final stage of qualifying. Australia cruised to the top of their final group, finishing five points clear and conceding just one goal in eight games - in their final game when top spot was already assured. A 4-0 win over Qatar was the highlight of qualification, with goals from Tim Cahill, Joshua Kennedy and two from Brett Emerton wrapping up a convincing win in Brisbane.

Prospects
The Australia team that reached the last-16 under Guus Hiddink in 2006 may have had more in the way of attacking talent, but this Aussie outfit will still feel confident that they can qualify from a tricky Group D and maybe even improve on their efforts of four years ago. A comfortable qualification campaign saw a squad of predominantly European-based players dominate their Asian opponents, as the Socceroos competed in AFC qualifying for the first time - thereby avoiding the Oceania play-off stage and allowing New Zealand the chance to also qualify. The team is set up in a much more orthodox way than it was under Hiddink, with manager Pim Verbeek tending to prefer either a 4-4-2 system, or a 4-5-1 formation, with Tim Cahill supporting the lone forward. Big target-man Joshua Kennedy or the nippier alternative Brett Holman allow the likes of Cahill and Harry Kewell the opportunity to get on the ball in dangerous areas, where their quality proved too much for the Asian teams, and is likely to cause many of the world’s best some problems. Brett Emerton and Mark Bersciano combine to form a strong midfield partnership, while Scott Chipperfield and Lucas Neill lead an experienced defense in front of Mark Schwarzer. Australia’s big-name players will need to be at their best in South Africa to lead Verbeek’s side out of a tricky group, as while Germany’s defensive weaknesses may offer an opportunity for an upset in the opening game, Ghana’s strong midfield and Serbia’s all-round game will be a strong test of the Socceroos’s quality.