Congrats to the Socceroos who have finally made it to the World Cup after all these years. They beat Uruguay on penalty kicks after the home and home series was tied 1-1.

Uruguay, you say? Why is Australia playing Uruguay, a team from South America? Good question. Australia has long been the class of the Oceania group. It's hard not to be when you face the likes of the Solomon islands and Tahiti in group play. However FIFA has not seen clear to grant the Oceania champions an automatic bid to the World Cup. So Australia, who always win, have to face another opponent in a grueling home and home series just to qualify and until today, had never managed it. Sort of unfair, but that's the deal.

So a brief bit of history. Back when I was living in Oz in 1993, Australia were the Oceania champions but lost out to, you guessed it, Uruguay, in the home and home, by one goal if memory serves. It was devastating since, at least at the time, I was planning on returning to the US to watch the World Cup on home soil and wanted to see my Aussied there. Instead, as it turned it out, I got "stuck" in South East Asia for nine months and ended watching the matches in random places across the Indonesia archipelago from the first game (Germany v. Bolivia?) on a small black and white hooked up to a car battery in Java all the way to the finals in Labuhanbajo, Flores. But I digress.

Australia were all set to make the last World Cup in Japan/South Kores. Again, the were the victors in the Oceania group. Again, they had to face an opponent in a home and home. This time, they didn't have to overcome a South American powerhouse. This time they only had to beat Iran. Well, they couldn't do it. The home and home was tied. I could look up the details, but it's late and I want to go home. I beleive that the first leg was in Tehran and was tied either 0-0 or 1-1. The return leg was in my beloved Melbourne and again was tied, but this time the score was either 1-1 or 2-2. Devastatingly, Iran went through to the World Cup on away goals (Khodad Azzizi, you brilliant bastard) and Australia were once again sent home packing.

But this year, it's a different story. The Aussies are in and will bring their excting brand of football to the pitches of Germany. It's about time.