The Aussies will need to work together to progress.

When I asked Scott Gilligan about what would make the campaign in Chinese Taipei a success, progression to the second round was the answer. Before the draw had been carried out, we agreed that an element of luck would be needed for the Futsalroos to hold any hope of advancing.

While you never admit you can’t win a game, holding realistic expectations is a sensible course of action. We were sure to have a European and Asian opponent. The other member of our group would be a South American nation or world champions Spain.

Worst case, we could have been drawn against Iran, Argentina and Italy, champions of their respective confederations, leaving little hope for a single win, let alone the two required to progress.

But thankfully for us it was Cuba that drew poorly, slated to meet Iran and Argentina, along with third-place getters from Guatemala, Portugal.

Meanwhile, the Futsalroos got as close to the best draw we could have hoped for – our Group B opponents: Thailand, Brazil and Czech Republic.

The upside of drawing Brazil is that we meet the three time world champions first. Having played them several times in the lead up to the tournament, we should have a reasonable knowledge of how they will play. Extreme (and most would say unlikely) best case - we can win. Worst case, we can limit the damage in case goal difference becomes a factor later in the event. It is also an opportunity to get into some sort of groove in a game where we are vast underdogs.

More importantly we can take a look at our other opposition before we have to play them. You can bet that after the Brazil game Scott Gilligan will be the first one out of the change rooms so he can watch the Republic take on Thailand. If anything can be learned about the Czechs during their first encounter, you can bet it will be implemented. Taking points against the lowest ranked UEFA team in the tournament may look near impossible, but is required for progression.

Undoubtedly, Thailand will give us our best opportunity to win a FIFA World Championship finals match for the first time in 12 years. The third ranked Asian nation bested us in the lead up to Guatemala, but the Futsalroos have since beaten higher ranked Japan and will have taken two looks at the wily South-East Asians before walking on court to oppose them.

The draw has removed a few of the impediments that we often encounter in tournaments on the world stage. It means there is less chance of excuses being offered should we fail.

But for the diehard Aussie futsal fan, this lottery has offered some hope, a reason to dream that we can have better success in the 5th FIFA Futsal World Championship.

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source: MasterTips