Big-league Socceroos on a downward spiral

ITALY JOINS BELGIUM IN THE LINE-UP FOR EURO 2020

SOCCEROOS fans might be forgiven for taking World Cup qualification for granted — but stark figures chart the declining strength of the national team.

As the Australian team heads to Chinese Taipei for the next step on the road to Qatar 2022, Socceroos boss Graham Arnold can call on just a handful of players who are at clubs in the world’s top leagues — compared with almost three quarters of the squad that qualified against Uruguay 14 years ago.

The numbers confirm a widespread perception that the number of Australians playing at t he highest l evel has declined sharply since the Golden Generation changed the course of history under Guus Hiddink. ITALY became the second team to qualify for Euro 2020 after a 2-0 win over Greece yesterday, while three-time champion Spain edged closer to the finals despite conceding a stoppage-time equaliser away to Norway.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho dispatched a second-half penalty as Italy, wearing green kits for just the second time in history, registered a seventh straight win in Group J.

The Azzurri, who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, added a second in Rome on 78 minutes through a deflected strike from Juventus forward Federico Bernardeschi.

Roberto Mancini’s side joined Belgium in the draw for next year’s finals.

The squads that qualified for World Cups in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017, plus Arnold’s current strongest playing group, were compared and set against the annual leagues ranking compiled since 1991 by the International Federation of Football Historians and

“We managed to create a team in a short period of time. It wasn’t easy but you have to thank the players, who have quickly developed an understanding,” said Mancini, who took over as Italy coach 18 months ago. “It’s a team with character that fights and plays with the ball but one that must also improve. Now we have a year to try and get better.

“We have a lot of work but we’re not very far from the best European teams. I’m happy and proud to have helped the national team come through a tough patch.”

Spain dropped its first points in Group F as Joshua King converted a 94th-minute spot-kick to rescue a 1-1 draw for Norway. Statisticians using the performance of clubs in domestic and international competitions.

The 23-man squad that beat Uruguay in 2005 to break a 32-year World Cup drought had nine players in the EPL, three in Serie A, one in La Liga and a further three in the Dutch Eredivisie — 16 players in the top 10 leagues that year.

Now Arnold can call on two in the EPL, two in the Bundesliga and one in Scotland’s Premier League, whose inclusion in the current top-10 list is likely to provoke debate.

The decline in international strength has mirrored the increasing difficulty in securing qualification since that Uruguay playoff in 2005, as other Asian nations have reaped the benefit of investment in national team programs.

Four years l ater Pim Verbeek’s squad that qualified for the 2010 World Cup with two games to spare (and topped its group) had nine players in the leagues ranked in the top 10 in the world — seven in the EPL, and one each in Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Holger Osieck’s side in 2013 left it to seven minutes from the end of the last group game to secure its place in Brazil 2014, with six players in the top 10 leagues.

That number had fallen to four in the squad that beat Honduras over two legs in 2017 under Ange Postecoglou.