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I had actually promised myself not to write about the World Cup 2006. Simply because I haven’t been particularly interested in the world championship. However, I did say before the season started that I hoped to see Australia through to the semi-finals, or at the very least the quarters. The match between Australia and Italy has just concluded and I must say that Australia’s chances were mighty high. Unfortunately, they fell short to an Italian job.

Many wouldn’t believe the run that Australia’s been having in only their second Cup of Life appearance. Their first was 32 years ago, which coincidently was also held in Germany. They started their run with a 3-1 trashing of Japan. That came as a very pleasant surprise to me as I had expected Japan to go up 2-1. The match against Brazil played out as predicted. But their final group match against Croatia was a super thriller. The resulting 2-2 draw was just enough to send Australia into the final 16 where they met up with Italy.

This is actually the first match that I’ve watched to completion, from the first whistle until the very final seconds of injury time. The Socceroos had managed to hold the Italians to a scoreless first half. In the early minutes of the second, Italy saw their first setback when their midfielder was sent off with a straight red card for a questionable tackle. From then on, Australia pressed their advantage in numbers and held a lion’s share of ball possesion. They kept the pressure on the Italian goal and came close on several occasions.

The Italians, famous for their defencive game and playing with a man down, brought on an extra defender to keep things in check. The game remained scoreless. Late into the game, Totti came onto the field. You can just see and hear the fans cheer and go wild as Italy’s golden boy stepped onto the pitch. Things got exciting and more than a bit hairy for the Australian side as the Italians seemed to gain a second wind. Both sides pressed hard.

Two more yellow cards were served to the Italians, to go with the red and the three yellow card to Australia, in the final minutes of regulation time and it seemed that things would be decided in overtime. I was half expecting the Australians to make a last minute score to take them into the next round. After all, that’s how they’ve managed to steal their earlier matches. It was as though they just lurked and lay in wait to score at the very last minute so as not to give their opponents a chance to respond. However, it was not the case this time. Instead, it was the Italians that went for the last minute break. And boy, what a break it was.

With three minutes of injury time added to the clock, it seemed like anyone’s game. Both sides played and defended extremely well. It was a late challenge 5 seconds towards the end that was the Australian’s downfall. A defender sprawled on the ground and the Italian striker tripped (or more likely made a dive) over the prone body near the penalty area. The referee awarded a VERY questionable penalty to the Italians! Totti took the kick and beat the goalie to bring the Italians through to the next round.

Final score 1-0, in what was a very dramatic match with a very strange finish. The Australian fans must be cursing the referee and their luck while the Italians celebrate a stolen victory. The Soccaroos have nothing to be ashamed about with their performance. It was luck, more than anything that saw an end to their emotional World Cup run. I’m sure soccer will have gained a large following in Australia after this. Hopefully, we’ll see them again in the next season.