Well, the waiting is over
Lick your lips, we are in for some thrilling excitement.
Panama, Mexico, meh, I dont see much between them at present. History is nothing, repeat nothing, we know our challenge, are we up for it ??
If we lose the first leg 4 nil, everyone will say it is to be expected, blah blah, and half a stadium will watch us do our best at the cake tin, after all, we are kiwis and we live in hope and dont ever give up
But say we park the bus, and hold them to a 1 goal margin, well, forget the Americas cup, the return leg will be the event of the year, 30 thousand living every kick, pass, tackle, foul, corner, at the Ring of Fire, and the rest of NZ backing them in the pubs, the clubs, the lounges of the ordinary bloke as well, (they may even have it on the screens on the Cloud for us Aucklanders.)
The fat lady hasnt even sung yet, she is just getting the stage ready, take your seats, or stand if you cant sit still, it is on
I say, bring it on, I'm ready
That's the attitude - never say die!
Here's an epic 1993 Oceania qualification series through CONCACAF and CONMEBOL we can take inspiration from:
http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Socceroo/1993A.html
I remember back in 1993 Australia almost made the finals against huge odds culminating in a play-off series v Maradona's Argentina:
They had to both win the Oceania play-off v NZ, a play-off v CONCACAF (Canada) and a play-off v a struggling but still threatening Argentina.
Remember that a large number of the Socceroo team in 1993 were merely semi-pros playing in the old NSL with only a handful of pros playing in the UK and Europe.
Prior to each actual round of qualifiers, Australia were poor to average in friendlies e.g. preparing for the Oceania play-off v NZ, they lost 3-1 to Kuwait in a friendly in Singapore. Echoes of the current All Whites?
Not a bad NZ side were edged 1-0 in Auckland with Fred de Jong sent off. NZ folded somewhat in Melbourne, losing 3-0
Things got tough for Australia when they lost the first away leg v Canada 2-1 (even Australia's goal was scored by a Canadian). They could only manage 2-1 at home in normal time and after extra time, eventually scraping through on penalties (Mark Schwarzer saved two).
On to more friendlies preparing for the play-off v Argentina: a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 loss v South Korea in Seoul (Korea weren't as strong then as they are now).
First leg v Argentina - Sydney October 31 1993: 1-1 (Vidmar; Balbo) "The Argentinian side were considered favourites boasting stars like Maradona, Redondo and Batistuta. However in the first leg Australia held their own and even though Argentina scored first, Australia fought back to level by the end of the first half to provide a great game for the full house at the Sydney Football Stadium. The game was considered by many to be Australia's greatest as they matched strides with their more fancied opponents forcing the result to be achieved in the second leg in Buenos Aires."
Second leg, Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 17 1993: 0-1 (Tobin o.g.)"The second leg in Buenos Aires was a disappointing result for Australia. Although they matched their opponents for most of the game, the home side driven by a parochial crowd got the result 1-0 only through a speculative cross which bounced in off Alex Tobin for an own goal on 58 mins and they were lucky to advance to USA 94 at the expense of the gallant Socceroos."
Videos v Argentina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVe9vhr9EkI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mBj07-RGPo
Some years previously, Aussies beat then World Champions Argentina 4-1 in the 1988 Bicentennial tournament with a team of mostly NSL amateur/ semi-pro players: