Australia at the FIFA World Cup

This article summarises the results and overall performances of Australia at the FIFA World Cup.

Australia has qualified for the FIFA World Cup's tournament phase on six occasions: in 1974, 2006 and the four tournaments since.^[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 South 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 the Qatar 2022 edition, Australia made it to the last 16 for only the second time, 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

Australia's FIFA World Cup record

Qualification record

Year

Hosts

Round

Squad

1930 to 1962

Not a member of FIFA

1966

England

Did not qualify

Final Round

2

0

2

9

1970

Mexico

Final Round

9

3

5

1

12

8

1974

West Germany

Group stage

14th

3

0

1

2

0

5

Squad

Final Round

11

5

1

21

10

1978

Argentina

Did not qualify

4th

12

6

2

4

20

11

1982

Spain

2nd

8

4

2

22

9

1986

Mexico

1st (PO)

8

4

3

1

20

4

1990

Italy

2nd

6

2

11

7

1994

United States

1st (PO)

10

7

1

2

21

7

1998

France

1st (PO)

8

6

2

0

34

5

2002

South Korea

Japan

1st (PO)

8

7

0

1

73

4

2006

Germany

Round of 16

16th

4

1

2

5

6

Squad

1st (PO)

9

7

1

31

5

2010

South Africa

Group stage

21st

3

1

3

6

Squad

1st

14

9

3

2

19

4

2014

Brazil

Group stage

30th

3

0

3

9

Squad

2nd

14

8

4

2

25

12

2018

Russia

Group stage

30th

3

0

1

2

5

Squad

3rd (PO)

22

14

6

2

51

18

2022

Qatar

Round of 16

11th

4

2

0

2

4

6

Squad

3rd (PO)

20

13

4

3

45

12

2026

Canada

Mexico

United States

To be determined

In progress

9

6

2

1

23

2

2030

Morocco

Portugal

Spain

To be determined

2034

Saudi Arabia

Total

–

20

4

12

17

37

—

170

101

42

27

430

127

Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

From 1966 to 2006 played as a full member of the OFC.

Since 2010 played as a full member of the AFC.

Head-to-head record

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Argentina	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Chile	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Croatia	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Denmark	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00
East Germany	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
France	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	000.00
Germany*	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	000.00
Ghana	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Italy	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Japan	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Peru	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Serbia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Spain	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Total	20	4	4	12	17	37	−20	020.00

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

14 June 1974

19:30 CET

East Germany	2 – 0	Australia
Curran 58' (o.g.) Streich 72'	Report

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Youssou N'Diaye (Senegal)

18 June 1974

16:00 CET

Australia	0 – 3	West Germany
	Report	12' Overath 34' Cullmann 53' Müller

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

Attendance: 53,000

Referee: Mahmoud Mustafa Kamel (Egypt)

22 June 1974

16:00 CET

Australia	0 – 0	Chile
	Report

Olympic Stadium, West Berlin

Attendance: 14,681

Referee: Jafar Namdar (Iran)

2006 FIFA World Cup

Group F

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	9
Australia	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
Croatia	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
Japan	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

12 June 2006

15:00 CEST

Australia	3–1	Japan
Cahill 84', 89' Aloisi 90+2'	Report	26' Nakamura

Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern

Attendance: 46,000

Referee: Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)

18 June 2006

18:00 CEST

Brazil	2–0	Australia
Adriano 49' Fred 90'	Report

Allianz Arena, Munich

Attendance: 66,000

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

22 June 2006

21:00 CEST

Croatia	2–2	Australia
Srna 2' N. Kovač 56' Šimić 32' 85' Šimunić 61' 90' 90+3' (Note¹)	Report	38' (pen.) Moore 79' Kewell Emerton 81' 87'

Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: Graham Poll (England)

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

26 June 2006

17:00 CEST

Italy	1–0	Australia
Totti 90+5' (pen.) Materazzi 50'	Report

Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern

Attendance: 46,000

Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

2010 FIFA World Cup

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	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	Advance to knockout stage
3	Australia	3	1	1	1	3	6	−3	4
4	Serbia	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

13 June 2010

20:30 SAST (UTC+2)

Germany	4–0	Australia
Podolski 8' Klose 26' Müller 68' Cacau 70'	Report	Cahill 56'

Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

Attendance: 62,660

Referee: Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico)^[2]

19 June 2010

16:00 SAST (UTC+2)

Ghana	1–1	Australia
Gyan 25' (pen.)	Report	Holman 11' Kewell 24'

Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

Attendance: 34,812

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)^[3]

23 June 2010

20:30 SAST (UTC+2)

Australia	2–1	Serbia
Cahill 69' Holman 73'	Report	Pantelić 84'

Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Attendance: 37,836

Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

2014 FIFA World Cup

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	3	0	10	3	+7	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Chile	3	2	1	5	3	+2	6	Advance to knockout stage
3	Spain	3	1	2	4	7	−3	3
4	Australia	3	0	3	3	9	−6	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

13 June 2014

18:00 (UTC-4)

Chile	3–1	Australia
Sánchez 12' Valdivia 14' Beausejour 90+2'	Report	Cahill 35'

Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá

Attendance: 40,275

Referee: Noumandiez Doué (Ivory Coast)

18 June 2014

13:00 (UTC-3)

Australia	2–3	Netherlands
Cahill 21' Jedinak 54' (pen.)	Report	Robben 20' Van Persie 58' Depay 68'

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre

Attendance: 42,877

Referee: Noumandiez Doué (Ivory Coast)

23 June 2014

13:00 (UTC-3)

Australia	0–3	Spain
	Report	Villa 36' Torres 69' Mata 82'

Arena da Baixada, Curitiba

Attendance: 39,375

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

2018 FIFA World Cup

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	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	Advance to knockout stage
3	Peru	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	3
4	Australia	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

16 June 2018

13:00 MSK (UTC+3)

France	2–1	Australia
Griezmann 58' (pen.) Behich 81' (o.g.)	Report	Jedinak 62' (pen.)

Kazan Arena, Kazan

Attendance: 41,279^[4]

Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

21 June 2018

16:00 SAMT (UTC+4)

Denmark	1–1	Australia
Eriksen 7'	Report	Jedinak 38' (pen.)

Cosmos Arena, Samara

Attendance: 40,727^[5]

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

26 June 2018

17:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Australia	0–2	Peru
	Report	Carrillo 18' Guerrero 50'

Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Attendance: 44,073^[6]

Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

2022 FIFA World Cup

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	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	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Tunisia	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
4	Denmark	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

22 November 2022

22:00

France	4–1	Australia
Rabiot 27' Giroud 32', 71' Mbappé 68'	Report	Goodwin 9'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 40,875

Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)

26 November 2022

13:00

Tunisia	0–1	Australia
	Report	Duke 23'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 41,823

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

30 November 2022

18:00

Australia	1–0	Denmark
Leckie 60'	Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 41,232

Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Round of 16

3 December 2022

22:00

Argentina	2–1	Australia
Messi 35' Álvarez 57'	Report	Fernández 77' (o.g.)

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 45,032

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Goalscorers

Player	Goals	1974	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022
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
1	Mathew Ryan	10	2014, 2018, 2022
3	Mark Bresciano	9	2006, 2010, 2014
3	Tim Cahill	9	2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
5	Scott Chipperfield	7	2006, 2010
	Jason Culina	7	2006, 2010
	Lucas Neill	7	2006, 2010
	Mile Jedinak	7	2010, 2014, 2018
	Aaron Mooy	7	2018, 2022
	Aziz Behich	7	2018, 2022
	Jackson Irvine	7	2018, 2022

References

^ "Country Info". FIFA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
^ "Referee designations for matches 1-16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
^ "Referee designations for matches 17-24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
^ "Match report – Group C – France v Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
^ "Match report – Group C – Denmark v Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
^ "Match report – Group C – Australia v Peru" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

[1] "Country Info". FIFA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2014.

[2] "Referee designations for matches 1-16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.

[3] "Referee designations for matches 17-24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

[FRA-AUS_full-time-4] "Match report – Group C – France v Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.

[DEN-AUS_full-time-5] "Match report – Group C – Denmark v Australia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.

[AUS-PER_full-time-6] "Match report – Group C – Australia v Peru" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Countries at the FIFA World Cup
Team appearances All-time table
AFC	Australia² China Indonesia¹ Iran Iraq Japan Kuwait North Korea Qatar Saudi Arabia South Korea United Arab Emirates
CAF	Algeria Angola Cameroon DR Congo¹ Egypt Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco Nigeria Senegal South Africa Togo Tunisia
CONCACAF	Canada Costa Rica Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States
CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay
OFC	New Zealand
UEFA	Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic¹ Denmark East Germany³ England France Germany¹ Greece Hungary Iceland Israel² Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia¹ Scotland Serbia¹ Slovakia¹ Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
¹ Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). ² Have been member of multiple confederations. ³ Team and national federation no longer exist.

FIFA World Cup record

Head-to-head record

1974 FIFA World Cup

Group 1

2006 FIFA World Cup

Group F

Round of 16

2010 FIFA World Cup

Group D

2014 FIFA World Cup

Group B

2018 FIFA World Cup

Group C

2022 FIFA World Cup

Group D

Round of 16

Goalscorers

Most appearances

See also

References