When Australia qualified for the last World Cup on a penalty shootout win over Uruguay, it was the first time since 1974 that they advanced to the final tournament.
After losing to eventual champions Italy in the second round on a questionable late penalty call, there was much anticipation of future glory with Guus Hiddink at the helm.
But Hiddink left shortly after the World Cup ended, to be replaced a year later by Pim Verbeek, who was Hiddink's former deputy at South Korea in 2002. Australia switched confederations to Asia from Oceania, meaning it wouldn't have to face any more South American teams in the intercontinental playoff stage of qualifying.
Instead, the Australians led Group A in Asian qualifying ahead of second-place Japan, without losing a match and only conceding one goal.
So why all the concern ahead of the World Cup? Injuries and high expectations, mostly.
The injury list includes striker Harry Kewell (groin), David Carney (shoulder), Scott Chipperfield (ankle), Vince Grella (thigh) and Mark Bresciano (back).
“It's all about us. It's all about the nation creating some more memories like we did in the last one. I can't wait, it's going to be fantastic,” Australia defender Lucas Neill said after clinching qualification last June.
“The green and gold army is there.” Less than two weeks later in Melbourne, Everton midfielder Tim Cahill scored two second-half goals as Australia beat Japan 2-1 to finish the last round of Asian qualifying with an unbeaten record from eight matches.
Cahill's impression must have stayed with Australian fans.
In a Football Federation Australia on-line poll asking “Who will be Australia's most important player in the World Cup?” Cahill was in the lead by a large margin in early February with 45 percent.
He was followed by Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer at 31 percent, Kewell at 15 percent, and Neill at 4 percent.
To have Socceroos in the public eye is a change from the past in Australia. For much of its post-war history, football in Australia was largely played and followed by migrants from Britain and southern and Eastern Europe.
Australia came close to reaching the World Cup several times between its trips to the sport's marquee event in 1974 and 2006, the most heartbreaking failure coming in 1997. In a playoff for the last berth at the 1988 tournament in France, Australia led Iran 3-1 on aggregate late in the second leg at home but conceded twice to lose on away goals.
Kewell was among the players involved that night, and it still rankles him.
“It's been an uphill battle but we've survived it,” Kewell said of Australia's back-to-back qualification.
“There has been a lot of people saying we wouldn't do it, but we proved them wrong and I'm proud of all of the team.” Kewell said Australia had demonstrated it belonged at the elite level.
“It's a respect thing if you make back-to-back World Cups,” he said. “Only the great teams make it every four years.” Grella can remember a time when making a single World Cup was a dream.
“Now we've made two in row and we shouldn't forget how important it is,” the midfielder said.
“People are thinking it was our right to make the World Cup,” he added. “It's not our right, we're still a growing nation and to make it two times on the trot means we're making steps forward.”
