[NZerFromHK]

I wouldn't put too much confidence into the past World Cup performance to gauge Australia's fate this time. After all, the current crop of players weren't even born yet when their country was last in the World Cup.

A few Australian soccer fans on another forum boasted sometime last year that had both sides presented full strength teams, Australia will beat the US.

[Jameison]

" wouldn't put too much confidence into the past World Cup performance to gauge Australia's fate this time"

I would.
The World Cup is different.
Look at Cameroons back in 1982, they had pretty decent players, and they did reasonably well, but still got sent home after the first round.
They were simply lacking in experience at playing at the World Cup.
By the World Cup in 1990, they had plenty of experience and advanced to the the quarter finals, where they lost to England, in a match where they actually outplayed the English (I watched it live in London, and evenmany of the English admitted they had been outplayed)).

"After all, the current crop of players weren't even born yet when their country was last in the World Cup."

They sure were born in 2002, and Australia sill didn't even qualify.



"A few Australian soccer fans on another forum boasted sometime last year that had both sides presented full strength teams, Australia will beat the US"

Australians are known to be full of mighty talk, when they have had too many Fosters beer.
I wouldn't put to much store by such lose talk.