Joeys Arrive as New Kids On The Block
Australian Lucas Pantelis fends off Eduardo of Brazil.
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The future certainly looks bright for football in Oceania. After emerging from the Under-17 World Championship's 'Group of Death', Australia's Joeys battled their way to the final, only to lose narrowly to Brazil on penalties. By Terry Maddaford.
Love them or hate them, penalty shootouts are very much part of the 'global game'. But for the Australian under-17 soccer team, their loss to Brazil in the final of the World Championship at North Harbour Stadium showed the shootout as one of the cruellest of all sporting cuts.
This was the chance to continue an amazing 1999 run for Australian sport. Simply by reaching the final, they had defied the odds.
Toss in the solid effort by the Kevin Fallon-coached New Zealanders and it really was Oceania's time in the sun.
The efforts by the trans-Tasman teams were remarkable. Australia, from the toughest of the four groups, went through to the final where they met the team who had beaten them 2-1 first up in Christchurch.
Australia's Jess Vanstrattan shows his frustration during the penalty shoot out.
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En route to that gripping finale, the Les Scheinflug-coached Joeys came from behind to beat Germany 2-1; saw off one of the tournament favourites Mali with the only goal the Africans conceded at the tournament; overcame Qatar 1-0 in the quarter-finals; and ended the dramatic run of the United States in a tension-packed semi-final shootout.
New Zealand could not claim quite the same success but there was no disgrace in going down 2-1 to the United States in the tournament opener. But for the early dismissal of star striker David Mulligan it could have been a vastly different story.
After stumbling 5-0 to a fired-up Uruguayan outfit in the second round, they bounced back to score the first win by a New Zealand team in the final tournament of any FIFA event, beating Poland 2-1.
It was not, as some of the anti-soccer brigade would have us believe, a "dead" tie. Victory by the Poles would have booked their semi-final berth.
For the young Kiwis it was all about pride. Second-half goals by live-wire strikers Richard Mulligan and Allan Pearce laid the foundation for a heartfelt victory - and the crowd loved it.
The Australians, who played all their games apart from the final at Christchurch's QEII Stadium, went about their work quietly. They played as a team, supporting captain Mark Byrnes to a man.
In striker Joe Di Orrio they had a match-winner, while goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan turned in a sound, no-frills performance. His heartbreak was felt by everyone in the shootout which ended the Australian dream and sent the Brazilians away on a victory lap.
The final, despite the best efforts of the weather to disrupt it, was a fitting finale to a tournament which put the world's best of their age on the stage.
There is no doubt that many of those who have yet to step into the big time will do so soon. It is just as certain that some will go on to play at the highest level, perhaps as early as the 2002 World Cup.
The standard shown at the tournament merely underlined the global quality of the sport.
In transcending so many sporting boundaries and attracting better-than-anticipated support, the New Zealand and Oceania federations showed that football really is alive and kicking in this far-flung part of the soccer-playing world.
| Group A |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
| United States |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
7 |
| Uruguay |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
| New Zealand |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
3 |
| Poland |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
| Group C |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
PTS |
| Australia |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
| Brazil |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
| Germany |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Mali |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
QUARTER-FINALS
United States v Mexico 3:2
Ghana v. Uruguay 3:2 (after extra time)
Australia v Qatar 1:0
Paraguay v Brazil 1:4
SEMI-FINALS
United States v Australia 2:2 (after extra time, 6:7 on penalty kicks)
Ghana v Brazil 2:2 (after extra time, 2-4 on penalty kicks)
THIRD PLACE
United States v Ghana 0:2
FINAL
Australia v Brazil 0:0 (after extra time, 7-8 on penalty kicks)
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