Let it be known, this list is all the happy/positive/warm fuzzy moments, rather than the key/significant/potentially negative moments, such as Ange Postecoglou’s resignation.

10 Troisi puts Australia ahead against Chile in Confederations Cup

In June, the Socceroos made a fist of things at the Confeds Cup in Russia, claiming two draws and a credible 3-2 loss to Germany. However, the performance in the final group game 1-1 draw with highly rated Chile was the highlight, with James Troisi’s neat lofted finish putting Australia 1-0 at half-time. It wouldn’t be enough for Australia to progress to the semi-finals though.

9 Sydney FC wins the FFA Cup, completes calendar year treble

In November, the Sky Blues sealed the domestic treble across 2017 when Bobo scored an extra-time winner in a 2-1 triumph over Adelaide United in the cup final at Allianz Stadium. Sydney’s cup run included five wins, 20 goals scored and two goals conceded, capping a dominant year.

8 Rogic’s last-gasp Scottish Cup Final winner

It’s not every day an Aussie steps up in stoppage-time in a cup final in Europe to score a dramatic winner to seal a domestic treble. That was the case back in May when Tom Rogic drove forward in the 92nd minute of Celtic’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, firing home on his non-preferred right foot. Rogic had battled injury during the 2016-17 season and started the final on the bench, but made the most telling impact at the right time.

7 Sydney FC wins the Premier’s Plate

In the most underwhelming of circumstances, Sydney officially were crowned premiers whilst in Perth during a team dinner, by virtue of second-placed Melbourne Victory's 1-0 loss to Brisbane Roar in March. The club put out a video of players and coaches exchanging handshakes which was all very low key, but that shouldn’t lead us to under-estimate the magnitude of the achievement, winning the premiership by a whopping 17 points with three rounds to go.

6 Matildas beat Brazil, De Vanna scores stunning volley

‘Matildas fever’ hit Penrith and Newcastle in September when the Aussie girls played two high-profile friendlies against the mighty Brazil, representing an opportunity to exact some revenge for their Rio Olympics defeat. The matches also came shortly after the Matildas’ Tournament of Nations triumph, meaning crowds of 15,089 and 16,829 attended. The Matildas won both matches, with Lisa De Vanna scoring a stunning volley in the opener.

5 Mooy clinches EPL promotion with plucky Huddersfield with clutch penalty

Socceroo Aaron Mooy enjoyed a remarkable 12 months in English football over the calendar year, winning a host of individual accolades such as his club's Player of the Year gong, but his biggest achievement was playing a leading role in Huddersfield’s unlikely promotion to the Premier League (marking their first time in the top flight since 1972) via the play-offs. Mooy was ice cool in the play-offs against Sheffield Wednesday and Reading, nailing spotkicks in both games which went down to penalty shootouts.

4 Cahill’s double in extra-time World Cup play-off win over Syria

Australia’s passage to the 2018 World Cup was a long one. The longest ever actually, with the side playing 22 matches. It may have ended on October 10 though, when the Socceroos took on Syria had it not been for then-37-year-old Tim Cahill who scored an heroic double, including an extra-time winner after the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Cahill’s 109th minute header was pivotal, but Syria came within centimetres of pinching progression when Omar Al Soma’s free-kick hit the post in the 120th minute. Cahill’s header was the big moment but the latter shouldn’t be forgotten.

3 Sydney FC wins A-League Grand Final on penalties in seal double

The Sky Blues dominated the A-League throughout 2017 but their Grand Final triumph against Melbourne Victory occurred in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Sydney were forced to come from behind twice, firstly during the match and then in the shootout having gone 2-1 down after two penalties each. Danny Vukovic saved from Marco Rojas and Milos Ninkovic converted the decisive spotkick for a 4-2 shootout win. Victory had gone ahead through Besart Berisha in the first half. Sydney only equalized in the 69th minute when Rhyan Grant forced the ball home after David Carney’s effort rebounded into his path.

2 Matildas win Tournament of Nations, sparked by Kerr

The Matildas became almost every Aussies’ favourite national team midway through the year after they were crowned winners of the Tournament of Nations in the United States. Australia came up against some of the world’s best sides, in Brazil, Japan and USA, but finished up top of the pile after three stunning displays.

The hero was Sam Kerr who was the tournament’s top scorer with four goals. Her best moment was nailing a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Japan, while the 6-1 win over Brazil was the team’s big headline-grabbing moment. Kerr’s acrobatic backflip celebrations also became the symbol of the side’s success.

1 Socceroos seal 2018 World Cup qualification over Honduras

For all the Matildas’ brilliance and Sydney FC’s dominant success across the calendar year, you simply cannot go past qualifying for a fourth straight World Cup, particularly given Australia’s dramatic and prolonged qualification campaign which finally culminated at ANZ Stadium on November 15.

After a goalless first-half, in light of the 0-0 first leg draw in San Pedro Sula, Mile Jedinak was the hero of the night, scoring a rare hat-trick as Australia swept aside Honduras 3-1 in front of 77,060 fans in Sydney. Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos had made hard work of it, but they had made it!