It’s only a few more sleeps until the start of one of the world’s biggest sporting events – the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Australian Socceroos kick off their campaign on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada, against Turkey, which could be a potential banana skin. Drawn in Group D, the Socceroos were pitted alongside one of the host nations, the United States, in their second game, which is to be played on the country’s west coast in Seattle on 19 June. The opening World Cup game in the early hours of Friday will feature Mexico facing South Africa in the roofless Azteca Stadium, the scene of Brazil’s epic 1970 World Cup victory. The final group game for the Socceroos will be against South American opponents Paraguay on 25 June at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The Socceroos excelled in the previous World Cup and although arguably the current squad is weaker, they still have a good chance to progress from the group stage. Many soccer pundits would be thinking it would be a big call to say the Socceroos will advance from the group stage, given the quality of the opposition. Yet few are putting their money where their mouth is and saying that the boys in green and gold could return to Australia before their postcards arrive home. Don’t get me wrong, I will be one of the fans sitting glued to the tele, cheering the Aussies on, hoping against hope we can pull off a few surprise results, but I am a realist. The places up for grabs to advance from the group stage could be determined by goal difference. I’m sure the opponents have realised this scenario as well and will have their sharpshooters primed for action in front of goal when playing against the Socceroos. I’m worried the Aussie goalkeeper might have a sore back with the number of times I’m predicting he could be bending over to pick the ball out of the back of the net in that first game against Turkey. The goalkeeper could be the whipping boy, but remember the opposition has to get past 10 of his teammates first. As an Australian, I want our team to do well and the bottom line is that when it comes down to kick-off time, it’s 11 against 11, so we have to keep the faith. Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has already admitted his team was in a “tough group”, but he is approaching the tournament with “a lot of optimism and confidence” – hopefully that mentality will continue into the later stages of the tournament. However, the Socceroos won’t be the only team I will be cheering for. Being Scots-born, I will be cheering the boys in blue from my native land against the might of Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. I must admit, I watched the draw live six months ago, dreading that the Socceroos and Scotland would be drawn in the same group, which would definitely have split my loyalties. I will also be watching with interest the fate of England, hoping that Croatia, Ghana and Panama can shatter their hopes of repeating their 1966 World Cup win and send them home after their three group stage games. The above statement sounds a bit biased, doesn’t it? – but, I’m not biased at all - I don’t care who beats England! Maybe this year will be the year of the underdog and I will be able to witness the dream scenario of Australia versus Scotland in the World Cup final – what a party that would be! Soccer enthusiasts are sure to be bleary-eyed as many games are scheduled to start in the wee hours of the morning, but we will have the choice, as all matches will be broadcast live on SBS. This year’s World Cup will be the largest and most exciting edition of the tournament yet, as 48 teams from around the globe are set to compete in 104 fixtures.
