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Would you believe it, but fate has denied the Socceroos the opportunity for revenge against Iran.
Instead, they’re in the same group as Japan and Saudi Arabia… just like the last two World Cup qualifying campaigns.
Here are the groups.
GROUP A:
GROUP B:
GROUP C:
Graham Arnold will be breathing a sigh of relief. Australia has landed in Group C - which means there will be no trip to Pyongyang. So much for all those hypotheticals...
Here are the groups, only pot one left to come.
GROUP A:
GROUP B:
GROUP C:
So Uzbekistan are in Group A with the UAE and North Korea, and that looks difficult - we know they’ve given the Socceroos plenty of headaches before. Jordan are in Group B, and the same can be said of them… but Group C has Saudi Arabia in it! Are there any good options here for the Socceroos? Logistically, you’d have to say B or C are better for sure...
GROUP A:
GROUP B:
GROUP C:
We’re on. Just running through the draw machinations for the second time - why not - but you were already across them because you read my earlier posts.
Pot number six is being drawn first: North Korea, Indonesia and Kuwait. So they’ll be placed into groups A, B and C, but that won’t mean much to us until everyone else is drawn.
We’ll update you halfway through this process.
OK, so now we have former Japanese international Shinji Okazaki - who played at three World Cups and scored at two - on the stage now.
There are six ‘pods’ upon which the fishbowls and balls are standing. I sure hope we’re not going to do an interview with six different players now... nope, just one more ex-player, another FIFA legend: Iranian great Mehdi Mahdavikia, who played in that infamous 1997 match at the MCG.
Is this an omen?
Another montage.
See what I mean?
At least we got a quick shot of Graham Arnold in the audience before we launched into this second montage. He travelled over to Kuala Lumpur for this earlier in the week and is, according to our sources, coming home on an overnight flight tonight.
I’d feel sorry for him about that, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be in business class, so he’ll be OK.
I’ll be honest. If you’ve seen one draw, you’ve seen them all: a warm and engaging host running through the formalities, some montages, a video message from someone or other (here we’re listening to FIFA president Gianni Infantino say some things, which is always riveting), a speech from a dignitary, and the glorious visage of several glass fishbowls filled with balls containing pieces of paper which say the name of some countries.
It is what it is.
It’s now 5.05pm and I’m getting impatient already. Hopefully there’s no musical act.
If you’re watching the video pinned to this blog, you’ll know this. But if you’re not… it’s starting! We’re on!
Australia has been part of the AFC for almost 20 years - so it’s remarkable that the Socceroos have still not faced Iran since that heartbreaking World Cup qualifier at the MCG in 1997.
It was Graham Arnold’s last match as a player for the Socceroos, and three years ago, at this exact point in qualification, I wrote a story about how he wanted to draw Iran so he could “fix it”.
Graham Arnold after the Socceroos’ 1997 loss to Iran.Credit: Tim Clayton
“It’s amazing how many people still talk about it,” Arnold said.
“I remember all the players on the pitch at the time, they came over and it was really a breakdown in the game. Mentally, we switched off. Instead of driving the 2-0 forward we switched off and they got back straight in the game to 2-2 [Australia lost 3-3 on aggregate due to away goals].
“It was devastating. Seeing Terry Venables after the game, the way he was – it was the most unjust result he said he’s ever seen in his life. It was a sad way to end my international career.”
As you would have noticed, Iran are in pot one for today’s draw.
Read this article and pretend it’s current.