Australia at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article summarises the results and overall performances of Australia at the FIFA World Cup.
Australia’s men’s team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals on seven occasions: 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.[1] They have also attempted to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 15 times, with their first attempt being in 1966 when they lost to North Korea.
In Australia's first appearance in 1974, representing OFC, a team made up entirely of amateurs secured a scoreless draw against Chile, though they eventually departed from the tournament without a goal to show for their inaugural appearance. Australia made up for lost time at Germany 2006 and qualified for the Round of 16 before narrowly falling to eventual champions Italy. The German theme continued at South Africa 2010 although this time Australia, now representing the AFC, suffered a 4–0 loss against the European giants in a scoreline which ultimately scuppered their progress. A ten-man 1–1 draw against Ghana and a 2–1 win against Serbia saw Australia eliminated on goal difference, three goals off the Africans. Australia were to lose all three games in a tough group at Brazil 2014. In Russia 2018, it took a late own-goal for the eventual champions France to beat them, and a draw with Denmark gave them a chance depending on other results: but a loss to Peru in the final game, and Denmark's draw with France (which would have ended their chances even with a victory) put them out in the group stages. In the Qatar 2022 edition, Australia made it to the last 16 for only the second time - once again losing to the French, but scoring victories over Denmark and Tunisia, before falling 2–1 to Argentina, which, like what happened to 2006 Italy, Argentina would eventually claim the World Cup title in 2022.
FIFA World Cup record
Winners Runners-up Third place
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930 to 1962 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||||
| 1966 |  England |
Did not qualify | 2nd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||||||||
| 1970 |  Mexico |
1st | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 8 | |||||||||
| 1974 |  West Germany |
Group stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | Squad | 1st | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 10 | |
| 1978 |  Argentina |
Did not qualify | 4th | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 11 | ||||||||
| 1982 |  Spain |
2nd | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 9 | |||||||||
| 1986 | Mexico |
1st | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 4 | |||||||||
| 1990 |  Italy |
2nd | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 7 | |||||||||
| 1994 |  United States |
1st | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 7 | |||||||||
| 1998 |  France |
1st | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |||||||||
| 2002 |  Japan South Korea |
1st | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2006 | Germany |
Round of 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | Squad | 1st | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 5 | |
| 2010 |  South Africa |
Group stage | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Squad | 1st | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 4 | |
| 2014 |  Brazil |
Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | Squad | 2nd | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 12 | |
| 2018 |  Russia |
Group stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Squad | 3rd | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 51 | 18 | |
| 2022 |  Qatar |
Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Squad | 3rd | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 12 | |
| 2026 |  Canada Mexico United States |
Qualified | 2nd | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 7 | ||||||||
| 2030 |  Morocco Portugal Spain |
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
| 2034 |  Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 37 | — | 7/16 | 177 | 106 | 44 | 27 | 445 | 132 | ||
Head-to-head record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Brazil |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Chile |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Croatia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 0.00 |
 Denmark |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 50.00 |
 East Germany |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| France |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Germany* |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Ghana |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Italy |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Japan |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
 Netherlands |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Peru |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
 Serbia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Spain |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Tunisia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Total | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 37 | −20 | 20.00 |
- Games against West Germany are included in the statistics of Germany.
1974 FIFA World Cup
Group 1
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Germany |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 |
| West Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| Chile |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
 Australia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 1 |
2006 FIFA World Cup
Group F
Note 1: Šimunić was given three yellow cards in the match: the referee (Graham Poll) failed to send him off the pitch after the second yellow, and was only red carded after the third yellow.
Round of 16
2010 FIFA World Cup
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ghana |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Serbia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
2014 FIFA World Cup
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Chile |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Spain |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Australia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
| Australia | 2–3 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
2018 FIFA World Cup
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Denmark |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Peru |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Australia |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
2022 FIFA World Cup
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Denmark |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
Round of 16
2026 FIFA World Cup
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (H) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Paraguay |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Australia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage based on ranking |
| 4 |  Turkey |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Goalscorers
| Player | Goals | 1974 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Cahill | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Mile Jedinak | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Brett Holman | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| John Aloisi | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Harry Kewell | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Craig Moore | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Craig Goodwin | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Mitchell Duke | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Mathew Leckie | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Own goals | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
- Own goals scored for opponents
- Colin Curran (scored for East Germany in 1974)
- Aziz Behich (scored for France in 2018)
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Appearances | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathew Leckie | 10 | 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| Mathew Ryan | 2014, 2018, 2022 | ||
| 3 | Mark Bresciano | 9 | 2006, 2010, 2014 |
| Tim Cahill | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| 5 | Scott Chipperfield | 7 | 2006, 2010 |
| Jason Culina | 2006, 2010 | ||
| Lucas Neill | 2006, 2010 | ||
| Mile Jedinak | 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| Aaron Mooy | 2018, 2022 | ||
| Aziz Behich | 2018, 2022 | ||
| Jackson Irvine | 2018, 2022 |