they came from a land down under: the birth of the socceroos and how they qualified for the 1974 fifa world cup finals

Australia had never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals and the odds were stacked against them when they started their campaign for West Germany 1974 with only the top 16 nations qualifying. But with a team of part-time players mostly born outside the country, often subject to abuse and written off as no-hopers, the Socceroos, under their brilliant young coach Rale Rasic, shocked everyone.