2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off)

October 2026 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off) 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification Uruguay Uruguay 30px 1 Australia Australia 30px 1 (on aggregate; Australia won 4–2 on penalties) First leg 1 0 12 November 2005 Estadio Centenario Montevideo Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark) 55,000 Clear22 °C °FHistory for Carrasco Intl. Airport, Uruguay http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/MVD/2005/11/12/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA wunderground.com 2005-11-12 2013-05-01 Second leg 0 1 16 November 2005 Telstra Stadium Sydney Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain) 82,698 Mostly cloudy17 °C °FHistory for Kingsford Smith Intl. Airport, Australia http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/SYD/2005/11/16/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA wunderground.com 2005-11-16 2013-05-01 The 2006 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament, Uruguay. After winning the series, Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany."Australia derribó a Uruguay y clasificó a la Copa del Mundo 2006". Al Aire Libre, 16 November 2005"Uruguay se quedó sin Mundial". Infobae, 16 November 2005 Background thumb|left|200px|John Aloisi taking the decisive penalty The games were played on 12 and 16 November 2005 in Montevideo and Sydney respectively. With the home team winning 1–0 in both matches, the aggregate score was tied 1–1, and, with no away goal advantage, the play-off was decided by a penalty shoot-out, which Australia won 4–2 in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 1974 tournament.Flashback - Australia v Uruguay: 2005 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Play-off https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/flashback_-_australia_v_uruguay_2005_fifa_world_cup_intercontinental_play-off.html the-afc Asian Football Confederation 25 May 2023 14 November 2017History of the Australian Socceroos at the World Cup https://www.topendsports.com/events/worldcupsoccer/countries/australia/history.html Topend Sports 25 May 2023 It was the second consecutive FIFA World Cup where the two sides had played each other for a place in the tournament. On the first occasion in 2001, Uruguay won 3–1 on aggregate. The draw for determining the order of the home and away legs was made at a FIFA congress on 10 September 2005.Intercontinental play-off schedule confirmed https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=13896.html FIFA https://archive.today/20130122213655/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=13896.html#selection-503.0-506.0 22 January 2013 10 September 2005 Venues left horizontal 450 Estadio Centenario.JPG Sydney-Galaxy-homebush.jpg Estadio Centenario (left) and Telstra Stadium, venues for the series Background UruguayRoundAustraliaURUFinal standingsyes no AUSFinal round (OFC)OpponentResult1st legSolomon Islands (H)7–02nd legSolomon Islands (A)2–1 Match details First leg 12 November 2005 First leg 18:00 UTC−2 Uruguay 1–0 https://web.archive.org/web/20071123025916/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/preliminaries/preliminary=8905/matches/match=42916/report.html Australia D. Rodríguez 37 Estadio Centenario, Montevideo 55,000 Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark) _uruguay2005h _uruguay2005h _uruguay2005h _white stripes 000000 000000 Uruguay _aus04h _aus04h _aus04h _aus04h ffDF00 ffDF00 ffc900 006000 FFDf00 Australia GK 1 Fabián CariniDF 6 Diego LópezDF 4 Paolo Montero (c)DF 3 Darío Rodríguez 90+1MF 8 Carlos Diogo 64MF 5 Pablo GarcíaMF 15Diego PérezMF 21Diego Forlán 19MF 9 Álvaro RecobaFW 17Marcelo Zalayeta 64FW 18Richard MoralesSubstitutions:GK 12Sebastián VieraDF 2 Guillermo Rodríguez 64MF 7 Marcelo SosaMF 20Martín ParodiFW 10Darío Silva 24 19FW 11Mario RegueiroFW 13Fabián Estoyanoff 64Manager:Jorge Fossati GK 1 Mark SchwarzerDF 5 Tony VidmarDF 2 Lucas NeillDF 6 Tony PopovicMF 7 Brett EmertonMF 19Jason CulinaMF 3 Scott ChipperfieldMF 13Vince Grella 90+1MF 10Harry KewellFW 14Archie Thompson 52FW 9 Mark Viduka (c) 80Substitutions:GK 18Željko KalacDF 12Ljubo MiličevićMF 4 Tim CahillMF 8 Josip SkokoMF 20Luke WilkshireMF 23Mark Bresciano 52FW 15John Aloisi 80Manager:Netherlands Guus Hiddink OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Bill Hansen (Denmark) Anders Norrestrand (Denmark) Fourth official: Nicolai Vollquartz (Denmark)MATCH RULES 90 minutes 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted Second leg 16 November 2005 Second leg 20:00 UTC+11 Australia 1–0 Yes https://web.archive.org/web/20080417031200/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/preliminaries/preliminary=8905/matches/match=42917/report.html Uruguay Bresciano 35 Telstra Stadium, Sydney 82,698 Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain) Kewell Neill Vidmar Viduka Aloisi 4–2 D. Rodríguez Varela Estoyanoff Zalayeta _aus04h _aus04h _aus04h _aus04h ffDF00 ffDF00 ffc900 006000 FFDf00 Australia _uruguay2005h _uruguay2005h _uruguay2005h _white stripes 000000 000000 Uruguay GK 1 Mark SchwarzerDF 2 Lucas NeillDF 6 Tony Popovic 27 31DF 5 Tony Vidmar 39MF 23Mark Bresciano 96MF 4 Tim CahillMF 3 Scott ChipperfieldMF 19Jason Culina 53MF 7 Brett Emerton 110MF 13Vince GrellaFW 9 Mark Viduka (c)Substitutions:GK 18Željko KalacDF 11Stan LazaridisDF 12Ljubo MiličevićMF 8 Josip Skoko 110MF 10Harry Kewell 86 31FW 14Archie ThompsonFW 15John Aloisi 96Manager:Netherlands Guus Hiddink GK 1 Fabián CariniDF 2 Diego LuganoDF 4 Paolo Montero (c) 81DF 6 Guillermo RodríguezDF 3 Darío Rodríguez 67DF 11Mario Regueiro 44 97MF 5 Pablo García 76MF 7 Gustavo VarelaMF 8 Carlos Diogo 45+1MF 9 Álvaro Recoba 72FW 18Richard Morales 110Substitutions:GK 12Sebastián VieraDF 21Alejandro LagoMF 14Marcelo Sosa 81MF 19Gonzalo de los SantosFW 10Darío SilvaFW 13Fabián Estoyanoff 97FW 17Marcelo Zalayeta 72Manager:Jorge Fossati OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Víctoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain) Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain) Fourth official: Julián Rodríguez Santiago (Spain)MATCH RULES 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level: 3 (of 7) substitutions permitted Prelude and Match reports Prior to the first leg in Montevideo, there was controversy over the starting time, with the original start time of 16:00 moved to 21:00 in an attempt to make the Australian team miss their flights to Sydney for the second leg.Uruguay coach hit by tactical, logistical woes https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-11-09/uruguay-coach-hit-by-tactical-logistical-woes/736282 17 November 2025 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 9 November 2005 Australia responded by chartering a flight with their sponsor Qantas, who provided a plane with massage tables, exercise bikes and business class seating for the players.Smith Pete Ten years since Australia v Uruguay: the story of the Socceroos' greatest moment https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/16/ten-years-since-australia-v-uruguay-the-story-of-the-socceroos-greatest-moment 17 November 2025 The Guardian 16 November 2015 Uruguay then requested an afternoon kick-off time, which was accepted. Australia also requested and was given added security for the first leg, due to their players being abused and spat on when they played their away leg against Uruguay in the 2001 qualifiers.Smithies Tom The Uruguay fax that FA admin still laugh at and the surprising birth of an iconic sledge https://football360.com.au/the-uruguay-fax-that-fa-admin-still-laugh-at-and-the-surprising-birth-of-an-iconic-sledge/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOCcUNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFkUHBMSDdIMjdFRTcxZXpYc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvQ9LK5Jt_pl--Vq0OEcPvu1XBPc8dH6ZCmapZb-JlHTiYQqwJOO_-twC_eP_aem_ngnbpc-jPBQiU6qty9gBLA Football 360 17 November 2025Socceroos happy with security arrangements https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-10-28/socceroos-happy-with-security-arrangements/2134086 17 November 2025 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 28 October 2005 The first leg was a close affair, with a first half Darío Rodríguez goal the only separation of the two teams. Multiple saves by Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer kept the visiting side in the match, while Uruguayan midfielder Álvaro Recoba was considered unlucky not to score from his freekicks, although one assisted Rodríguez's goal. Diego Forlán was considered unlikely to play in the days leading up to the match due to an injury he picked up in club play. He would be passed fit pre-match, but was subbed off after only 18 minutes. Recoba claimed a penalty in the second half, although it was waved away to furious protests. Australian captain Mark Viduka and midfielder Jason Culina narrowly missed second-half equalisers, with Uruguay winning 1–0, with no away goal for Australia.Rodriguez gives Uruguay advantage https://edition.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/football/11/13/worldcup.uruguay/ 17 November 2025 CNN 13 November 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20221009040043/https://edition.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/football/11/13/worldcup.uruguay/ 9 October 2022 dead Uruguay ultimately suffered for their pre-match antics in changing the kick-off times, as they were forced to fly in economy due to a lack of business class seats once the time was set. A request was made to Football Federation Australia to share their own charter, which was quickly refused. Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati complained about the referees selected for the second leg, Belgians Frank De Bleeckere, Mark Simons and Peter Hermans. Fossati said Belgium were neighbours of the Netherlands, the home country of Australian coach Guus Hiddink. FIFA appointed a referee team from Spain to replace the Belgians afterwards.Uruguay coach lashes choice of refs 2005-10-29 Reuters https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-10-29/uruguay-coach-lashes-choice-of-refs/2135102Spanish refs to control second leg of Cup playoff: report 2005-11-05 Australian Associated Press https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/spanish-refs-to-control-second-leg-of-cup-playoff-report-20051105-gdmdxb.html https://web.archive.org/web/20250211164302/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/spanish-refs-to-control-second-leg-of-cup-playoff-report-20051105-gdmdxb.html 2025-02-11 Tensions were high before the second leg, with reports of Recoba stating that Uruguay had a "divine right" to be at the World Cup. A statement he would later deny, and is believed to have been fabricated. Although it would be heavily reported in Australia.Uruguay 'have divine right to play in Cup' https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-11-14/uruguay-have-divine-right-to-play-in-cup/740530 17 November 2025 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 14 November 2005 The match sold out the 83,000 seat Telstra Stadium, who buoyed by the reports of the statement, as well as reports of the Australian team being abused and spat on in Montevideo in 2001, went against Australian sporting traditions and roundly booed the Uruguayan anthem.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-11-18/socceroos-reveal-dirty-tricks-inspired-win/744420 Socceroos reveal dirty tricks inspired win ABC News Australia 18 November 2005 The second leg itself was a physical match, with nine yellow cards handed out. The physicalities beginning before the teams walked out, with Richard Morales and Tony Popovic coming to blows in the tunnel. The first ten minutes went the way of Uruguay, with multiple missed shots, before Australia came into the game. An elbow to the head from Popovic to Recoba earnt him a yellow card in the 27th minute, and he was quickly substituted, bringing on Harry Kewell, a surprise omission from the starting line up. Hiddink claimed to have planned to use Kewell as an early sub, and his plan quickly worked, as Kewell set up Mark Bresciano for Australia's first goal, equalising the play-off. Recoba who had been harangued by the crowd due to the pre-match reports was not at his best, being subbed off in the second half. Uncharacteristic misses from Uruguay's players became a characteristic of the match. Along with players from both teams coming off with injuries. No goals were scored after Bresciano's strike, and the two teams went into extra time locked at 1–1 on aggregate. Nothing could separate the teams in the 30 minutes of extra time and they were sent to a penalty shoot-out. Although Australia's Brett Emerton coming off with cramp late in extra time, ruined Hiddink's plan to replace Schwarzer with Željko Kalac for the shoot-out. Kewell was first to take his shot, easily converting his chance. Schwarzer then stopped Rodríguez's effort, to give Australia an early lead. The two sides then swapped successful penalties, until Viduka placed his shot wide to bring Uruguay back into the contest. Schwarzer however made himself a hero with his second save of the shoot-out, stopping Marcelo Zalayeta's effort. John Aloisi then stepped up and placed his shot past Fabián Carini sending Australia to their first World Cup since 1974 and avenging the elimination suffered in 2001. Aftermath For Uruguay it was the third FIFA World Cup out of four since 1990 they failed to qualify. Jorge Fossati lost his job and rehired Óscar Tabárez who managed the team before (1988–1990), and Uruguay entered the Proceso era, breaking many records and have qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 2010. Australia finally won a FIFA World Cup play-off after losing to Scotland (1986), Argentina (1994), Iran (1998) and the first playoff with Uruguay (2002). Australia were drawn into 2006 FIFA World Cup Group F with defending champion Brazil, Croatia, and Japan. They finished second place after Brazil, then were eliminated at Round of 16 against the eventual champion Italy. Legacy In 2009, Australian Broadcasting Corporation ranked Australia's victory in 2005 as number one on their list of milestone sporting moments of the 2000s.https://www.abc.net.au/sport/stories/2009/12/24/2780407.htm ABC Grandstand Sport - A decade in sport: 10 milestone moments Australian Broadcasting Corporation Melbourne paper the Herald Sun named Australia's victory in 2005 as one of 100 great moments in Australian sports history.https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/more-sports/100-great-australian-sporting-moments-that-will-make-you-proud-to-be-australian/news-story/268c7564f6a0bffcc77bfd582cdf2741 100 'proud to be Aussie' sports moments Herald Sun 24 January 2015 A documentary titled November 16 was released in 2015 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the second leg. It featured interviews with Álvaro Recoba, Fabián Carini and members of the Australian squad.https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-documentary-reminds-us-of-how-far-weve-come-but-theres-still-a-long-way-to-go-20151122-gl4s94.html Socceroos documentary reminds us of how far we've come but there's still a long way to go 22 November 2015 References 3-GbHTsFYUQ Australia v Uruguay in FIFA World Cup 2006 Play-Off second leg CONMEBOL-OFC 3 Category:2005–06 in Australian men's soccer Category:2005 in Uruguayan football Category:Australia men's national soccer team matches Category:Uruguay national football team matches Category:Men's international association football matches in Oceania Category:Men's international association football matches in South America Category:2005 in sport in Sydney Category:2000s in Montevideo Category:Men's soccer matches in Sydney Category:Football matches in Uruguay Category:Football in Montevideo 2006 Qualification Category:November 2005 sports events in Australia Category:November 2005 sports events in South America