The Socceroos preparations for the World Cup kick up another level as they face Czech Republic on Friday night ahead of the final trimmings of the preliminary squad. But when was the last time the Socceroos faced the 1976 Euro winners?
Forwards
Stan Lazaridis
A storied Socceroo and another member of our golden generation. Lazaridis represented Australia on 71 occasions playing anywhere on the left flank with blistering speed.
One of Western Australia’s greatest football exports, his time at West Ham United in the English Premier League was up, and he took a surprising step down to Birmingham City in the second division. It wasn’t long before he had The Blues back in the big time and in 2002 was home in the top flight once again.
In his 39th appearance for Australia, Lazaridis was in a wide left attacking position, sending in the cross that caused chaos in the Czech box before Craig Foster pounced.
Mark Viduka
For some he is the greatest Socceroo of all time, etching his name as one of our greatest goal scorers. Words simply cannot do ‘Dukes’ any justice.
A stallion at 25 years of age, Viduka was in absolute scorching hot form for Scottish giants Celtic, scoring 25 goals in 28 Scottish Premiership matches in the 1999/2000 season.
In his 18th Socceroos match Viduka still only had two goals to his name, back in 1997. His next wouldn’t come until 2003 against Ireland. Despite that, Viduka was banging them in for fun at club level and would soon be putting Australia on the map along with Harry Kewell at Leeds United in the English Premier League.
Paul Agostino
Agostino represented Australia 20 times and Czech Republic was his eighth chance to pull on the Socceroos shirt. The 25-year old was teammates with Ned Zelic at TSV 1860 München in the Bundesliga.
In his time at 1860 in the first and second division in Germany, Agostino played over 200 games scoring more than 50 goals.
The year 2000 was Agostino’s breakout year for goals in green and gold. The striker scored six times in 12 matches including one against Bulgaria, a hat-trick against Cook Islands and a brace against South Korea.
Substitutes
Craig Foster
The goal scorer for Australia on the night was coming towards the end of his international career. Playing out his final season for Crystal Palace in England, aptly being replaced by Tony Popovic, Foster played his 24th game for Australia against the Czechs.
In his final year of national team football, Foster scored seven of his nine international goals.
He then returned back to Australia and played out his remaining years at Northern Spirit, now known as Gladesville Hornsby Football Association Spirit FC, before becoming one of Australian football's most trusted and enjoyed pundits.
He is now head of the Southern Expansion bid for the Hyundai A-League.
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