22 February 2006 - Australia's Continental Shift

On 22 February 2006, Australia made their first appearance as a member of the Asian Football Confederation, beating Bahrain 1-3 in an Asian Cup qualifier.

Established in 1922, the Australian national team was a founding member of the Oceania Football Confederation, formed in 1966, along with New Zealand and Fiji. They were the federation's most successful team, but believed that the level of competition hurt their chances in major tournaments against teams from stronger federations--prior to 2006, they had qualified for only one World Cup, in 1974, which they exited in the group stage.

In 2005, the Asian Football Confederation issued a formal invitation for Australia to join, which the OFC executive committee endorsed unanimously. After FIFA's approval, the move became official in January 2006. In their first official match as an AFC member, played in Bahrain's National Stadium, they fell behind 1-0 thanks to a goal from Husain Ali (35'), but got goals from Archie Thompson (pictured) (53'), Josip Skoko (79'), and Ahmad Elrich (penalty, 87') to claim the win.

The increased level of competition had the desired result, as Australia went on to qualify for that year's World Cup and reached the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champions Italy, 1-0.

29 July 2007 - The Boys From Baghdad

On 29 July 2007, Iraq defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 before a crowd of 60,000 at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta to claim their first AFC Asian Cup title. The 2007 tournament was co-hosted by four countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Organized by the Asian Football Confederation, the Asian Cup was first played in 1956 and is usually played every four years. The AFC scheduled the 2007 tournament, however, only three years after the previous tournament in order to move the Cup off the same cycle as the Summer Olympics and the UEFA European Championship.

In the group stage, Iraq drew against Thailand (1-1) and Oman (0-0). In between, they beat newcomers Australia—who had just joined the AFC in January 2006—by the score of 3-1. Iraq advanced as group leaders, with Australia progressing as second-place finishers.

In the first knockout round, Iraq eliminated Vietnam (2-0), setting up a semi-final match against tournament favorites South Korea. The Korean side had advanced by defeating Iran on penalties, 0-0 (4-2), and forced the semi-final into penalties before falling to Iraq, 0-0 (4-3). (South Korea proceeded to win the third-place match, again on penalties, by defeating holders Japan, 0-0 (6-5)).

In the Final, Iraqi forward and captain Younis Mahmoud scored the match's only goal in the 72nd minute, giving the Iraqis their first major trophy since the beginning of the Gulf War.

22 February 2006 - Australia's Continental Shift

On 22 February 2006, Australia made their first appearance as a member of the Asian Football Confederation, beating Bahrain 1-3 in an Asian Cup qualifier.

Established in 1922, the Australian national team was a founding member of the Oceania Football Confederation, formed in 1966, along with New Zealand and Fiji. They were the federation's most successful team, but believed that the level of competition hurt their chances in major tournaments against teams from stronger federations--prior to 2006, they had qualified for only one World Cup, in 1974, which they exited in the group stage.

In 2005, the Asian Football Confederation issued a formal invitation for Australia to join, which the OFC executive committee endorsed unanimously. After FIFA's approval, the move became official in January 2006. In their first official match as an AFC member, played in Bahrain's National Stadium, they fell behind 1-0 thanks to a goal from Husain Ali (35'), but got goals from Archie Thompson (pictured) (53'), Josip Skoko (79'), and Ahmad Elrich (penalty, 87') to claim the win.

The increased level of competition had the desired result, as Australia went on to qualify for that year's World Cup and reached the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champions Italy, 1-0.

29 July 2007 - The Boys From Baghdad

On 29 July 2007, Iraq defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 before a crowd of 60,000 at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta to claim their first AFC Asian Cup title. The 2007 tournament was co-hosted by four countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Organized by the Asian Football Confederation, the Asian Cup was first played in 1956 and is usually played every four years. The AFC scheduled the 2007 tournament, however, only three years after the previous tournament in order to move the Cup off the same cycle as the Summer Olympics and the UEFA European Championship.

In the group stage, Iraq drew against Thailand (1-1) and Oman (0-0). In between, they beat newcomers Australia—who had just joined the AFC in January 2006—by the score of 3-1. Iraq advanced as group leaders, with Australia progressing as second-place finishers.

In the first knockout round, Iraq eliminated Vietnam (2-0), setting up a semi-final match against tournament favorites South Korea. The Korean side had advanced by defeating Iran on penalties, 0-0 (4-2), and forced the semi-final into penalties before falling to Iraq, 0-0 (4-3). (South Korea proceeded to win the third-place match, again on penalties, by defeating holders Japan, 0-0 (6-5)).

In the Final, Iraqi forward and captain Younis Mahmoud scored the match's only goal in the 72nd minute, giving the Iraqis the title. It was Iraq's first major trophy since the beginning of the Gulf War.