What the world’s media thinks of Australia’s chances in Qatar

The Socceroos haven’t even kicked a ball in Qatar yet, but the rest of the world has already panned Australia’s “weak” team.

The Socceroos haven’t kicked a ball, but has already been written off. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The Socceroos haven’t kicked a ball in Qatar yet, but the world has already written off Australia’s chances.

Australia’s World Cup campaign starts against reigning champions France at 6am (AEDT) on Wednesday, but if you believe what the rest of the world is saying, we may as well not bother.

As well as France, Australia faces Tunisia and Denmark, with the top two from Group D going into the knockout stages.

Here’s what the rest of the world thinks of our chances:

BBC

The British national broadcaster says the Socceroos made a mistake by not selecting midfielder Tom Rogic, who has just joined West Bromwich in the English second division after a few months without a club.

“Graham Arnold’s side come into the World Cup on the back of five consecutive wins, so they will be as confident as they could be... at least until they run into France,” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton writes for the BBC.

He’s predicted a 2-0 win for France.

Leaving out Tom Rogic was a mistake, says the BBC.

ESPN

ESPN does praise the Socceroos squad, but not that it’ll help them progress.

“Six players in Scotland. Two in Japan. Two in Denmark. Two in Italy. One at Hamburg St. Pauli. One for the Columbus Crew. Australia might have the most diasporic roster in the World Cup,” it writes.

The US sports channel says that’s a “neat” story, but won’t help Australia.

It says Australia only has a 22 per cent chance of progressing, with France favourites in Group D with 93 per cent.

The Athletic

The sports analysis site has broken down Australia’s play and it’s not great reading.

“For the second World Cup running, Australia needed the play-offs to qualify and they have a weaker squad than four years ago — no Mile Jedinak or Tim Cahill.

“They collapsed midway through third-round qualifying, winning just one of seven games. Australia lost twice to Japan, failed to score twice against Saudi Arabia and drew at China and Oman.”

It says Australia’s biggest weakness is stopping the opposition from creating chances, which is sure to cheer up the likes of Denmark and France.

Garang Kuo is the player the rest of the world is most excited about.

iNews - UK

The British news site says Australia’s lack of goals is our big problem.

“Firstly, Australia simply don’t score enough goals. Leckie is the top international goalscorer in this squad with 13; next come Mitchell Duke and Awer Mabil with eight each,” Daniel Storey writes.

But Storey says 18-year-old Garang Kuol is “the great new hope of Australian football”.

Fox Sports - US

The US Fox Sports also had praise for Kuol, who has just signed for Newcastle United in the Premier League, but admits getting out of the group is unlikely.

“This is an Australia side lacking experience at the highest level and that could cost them dear. They need to play with no fear if they are to get out of the group, but even that probably won’t be enough,” it writes.

New York Times

The esteemed New York Times says Australia “insists” on calling itself the Socceroos. This coming from a country that also calls it soccer, but anyway.

It says that Australia winning its first game at the finals since 2010 - most likely against Tunisia - is the bare minimum to deem Qatar a success.

“Australia may now be a mainstay of the World Cup, but it has not actually won a game at the tournament since 2010. Changing that record is the bare minimum for Coach Graham Arnold.”

Evening Standard - UK

The UK newspaper highlights the fact Australia had to play the most away games during qualifying because of Covid-19.

And that Australia’s players speaking up about human rights and LGBTQ issues is the “best thing” about the Socceroos.

But says we have a 425/1 chance, and won’t progress.

Wall Street Journal

The US newspaper says Australia is “most notable” for the stance players have made about Qatar hosting the World Cup.