Every World Cup, there seems to be the story of a nation that's given little to no chance of making any progress, but somehow ends up actually gaining fans along the way. For the 2018 tournament, we're here to tell you why Australia should be the team that you open your heart to.
The Socceroos are in Group C, alongside France, Denmark and Peru. A tough group, but the Aussies could shock plenty of people if they play with no fear.
Surely you're now asking yourself, “Why on earth would I cheer for a team that I don’t care about?” Well, we're here to help you. With a list of 18 perfectly, amazingly, really really super good reasons, you will be buying a Socceroos jersey in no time.
#1: Australia’s manager Bert van Marwijk has already taken a team to a World Cup final. Van Marwijk was the coach of the Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup, so he knows what it takes to get a team to the very end.
#2: Tim Cahill, Australia’s all-time leading goalscorer, has his own petrol stations named after him in the land down under. Can any other players say the same?
Introducing, #CAHILLTEX! #GoSocceroos pic.twitter.com/as7ovsbiX5
— Caltex Australia (@CaltexAustralia) May 14, 2018
#3: Tim Cahill also scores some pretty awesome goals. A quick flashback to the 2014 World Cup will remind you of that screamer he scored with HIS WEAK FOOT!
#4: Daniel Arzani is going to be the youngest player at the World Cup, and he is an Aussie. How about that?
#5: Australia will have an entire continent behind them. We don’t think the same can be said for any other nation.
#6: The Aussies are listed at 250-1 to win the World Cup. If you put a cheeky dollar on them to win it all, and by some divine miracle they win the damn thing, you could be taking home a cool $250.
#7: The Socceroos made the World Cup the hard way. They had to get past Syria in a playoff for the Asian Football Confederation, then they had to get past Honduras in an inter-continental playoff to make the World Cup. These lads are tough.
#8: There is a stadium in the A-League that has giant sauce bottles. Yep, Australia has it all.
.@sidlowe Sunset at Central Coast during A-League game v Wellington Phoenix. Yes, they are giant sauce bottles. pic.twitter.com/LoyosNN76x
— Steve Kaleb (@SteveKJunior) December 31, 2015
#9: They hold the record for the most goals in an international match. Australia defeated the mighty American Samoa 31-0, with Archie Thompson scoring 13 goals. 13 goals.
#10: Australia are going to the World Cup as the top ranked team from the AFC. They are ranked 36th in the world, one higher than Iran (37).
#11: The Australian captain, Mile Jedinak, clearly has the best beard out of anyone who is playing at the World Cup.
#12: The A-League had a Star Wars round. Can any other nation say the same about their own league? Didn’t think so.
#13: Jose Mourinho predicted them to come second in the group. Seriously.
#14: Australia are the reigning champions of Asia. They won the Asian Cup in 2015 with a 2-1 extra time victory over South Korea in the final.
#15: This will be Australia’s fourth straight appearance in a World Cup. Before that, they hadn’t been to a World Cup since 1974. We won’t judge if you jump on the bandwagon now.
#16: Australia is undefeated against Peru, therefore you can expect them to at least get something out of it. Yes, they are undefeated against La Blanquirroja because the two have never played, but hey, you can’t deny that the Socceroos haven’t lost to them.
#17: When the Aussies made a video for their bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, it was pretty kickass.
#18: Well, aren’t all of these reasons convincing enough to make Australia your number one, numero uno team? We'd like to think so.
So, with all of that said, why can’t the Aussies be your number one (or two, we will accept that) at the World Cup? Everyone knows that at the World Cup, anything is possible. That will no doubt be the mantra for the Socceroos as they look to shock the world with their performances in Russia.
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