New Soccer Australia chief John O’Neill says the fledgling Oceania soccer confederation has a 70-30 chance of gaining a direct spot at the 2010 World Cup.
”I hope 2006 is the last time we have to qualify on such a circuitous route,” said O’Neill. ”Oceania deserves a full spot, not half a spot, and we will continue to really push for that.”
Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand and a cluster of Pacific nations, is the only one of Fifa’s confederations that doesn’t have at least one direct entry spot at the 32-nation World Cup finals.
Regional champion Australia must beat Oceania Nations Cup finalist Solomon Islands in a play-off next year to advance into another intercontinental play-off against the fifth-place South American team, with the winner getting the last place at the next World Cup.
Asked on Tuesday how he rates his chances of changing the qualifying process for 2010, O’Neill said: ”I’d say 70-30.”
”A lot will depend on how we perform on the [field] and on Fifa politics at the time of the vote,” he told the Australian Associated Press.
During the last Fifa presidential election, Oceania was offered a direct entry for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but the automatic spot was revoked after it was disputed by South American nations.
Australia hasn’t been to the World Cup finals since 1974.
The Socceroos failed at the last qualifying hurdle for the past two World Cups, losing to Iran in intercontinental qualifiers for France 1998 and going down in a home-and-away series to two-time champion Uruguay for the 2002 edition in Japan and South Korea.
O’Neill quit the head post at the Australian Rugby Union after hosting the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where Australia lost in the final to England.
Since then, he’s been behind a major revamp of the national domestic soccer league and a push to increase Australia’s standing in international soccer.
O’Neill said Australia has to prove it can compete at the highest level before Oceania can gain an automatic World Cup spot.
”We can, and we will,” he said.
”The truth is the Socceroos have not qualified since 1974,” he added. ”We haven’t felt good about ourselves for 30 years.” — Sapa-AP