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2008 Australia national soccer team season

Summary[edit]

The main focus for the National Team was to attempt to qualify for their third World Cup. The 2010 campaign was Australia's first as a member of the AFC and they entered the qualification in the Third Round drawn into a group containing Qatar, Iraq and China. Matches took place from February until June and Australia had already succeeded in moving through the next round when they lost to China at home in the final game. Despite this, they still topped the group.

Fourth Round qualifying had Australia in a group with Bahrain, Japan, Qatar and Uzbekistan. By the end of the calendar year, they had played three games for three wins and were sitting top of the group with five games yet to be played.

They also enjoyed a come from behind friendly win away to the Netherlands who were ranked four in the world at the time. Australia finished the year ranked 28 on the FIFA Rankings.

Record[edit]

Match results[edit]

Friendlies[edit]

Singapore v Australia

22 March Friendly	Singapore	0–0	Australia	Kallang, Singapore
		(Report)		Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 6,282 Referee: Prayoon Veerapool (Thailand)

Australia v Ghana

23 May Friendly	Australia	1–0	Ghana	Sydney, Australia
	Sterjovski 46'	(Report)		Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 29,914 Referee: Hajime Matsuo (Japan)

Australia v South Africa

19 August Friendly	Australia	2–2	South Africa	London, England
	Sterjovski 25' Kennedy 38'	(Report)	21' Nkosi 58' Modise	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Howard Webb (England)

Netherlands v Australia

6 September Friendly	Netherlands	1–2	Australia	Eindhoven, Netherlands
	Huntelaar 6'	(Report)	45+1' (pen.) Kewell 76' Kennedy	Stadium: Philips Stadion Attendance: 22,500 Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)

World Cup qualifiers[edit]

Australia v Qatar

6 February Third Round	Australia	3–0	Qatar	Melbourne, Australia
	Kennedy 11' Cahill 17' Bresciano 33'	[ (Report)]		Stadium: Telstra Dome Attendance: 50,969 Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)

China v Australia

26 March Third Round	China	0–0	Australia	Kunming, China
		[ (Report)]		Stadium: Kunming Stadium Referee: Mohamed Al Saeedi (United Arab Emirates)

Australia v Iraq

1 June Third Round	Australia	1–0	Iraq	Brisbane, Australia
	Kewell 47'	[ (Report)]		Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 48,678 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Iraq v Australia

7 June Third Round	Iraq	1–0	Australia	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
	Mohammed 28'	[ (Report)]		Stadium: Al-Rashid Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Kazuhiko Matsumura (Japan)

Qatar v Australia

14 June Third Round	Qatar	1–3	Australia	Doha, Qatar
	Ibrahim 89'	[ (Report)]	17', 56' Emerton 74' Kewell	Stadium: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Lee Gi-Young (South Korea)

Australia v China

22 June Third Round	Australia	0–1	China	Sydney, Australia
		[ (Report)]	12' Sun	Stadium: Stadium Australia Attendance: 70,054 Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)

Uzbekistan v Australia

10 September Fourth Round	Uzbekistan	0–1	Australia	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		[ (Report)]	26' Chipperfield	Stadium: Pakhtakor Stadium Attendance: 34,000 Referee: Saad Kamil Al-Fadhli (Kuwait)

Australia v Qatar

15 October Fourth Round	Australia	4–0	Qatar	Brisbane, Australia
	Cahill 8' Emerton 17', 58' Kennedy 76'	[ (Report)]		Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 34,320 Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)

Bahrain v Australia

19 November Fourth Round	Bahrain	0–1	Australia	Manama, Bahrain
		[ (Report)]	90+3' Bresciano	Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Masoud Moradi (Iran)

Goal scorers[edit]

References[edit]