GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes Baby! Yes Yes Yes!!!

We are through to the business end now! Yes!!!

From here on it's just a bonus. We play Italy. We shall see. They are classy, but they are also the biggest bunch of drama queens of ANY team in the world. So as often is the case in the international game, it may sadly come down to the style of reff'ing (by the way, while I do think the ref in this match missed a couple of blatant penalties, and gave a bloke 3 yellow cards, he still did a pretty darn good job).

Why does it matter about the ref? Simple. Ours and Italy's games are very different. We play quite a physical brand of football, like Croatia, or England.

The Italians are super skillful, but they REALLY see the game as non-contact, and will do anything to ensure the ref knows when they are touched. Call it play-acting, cheating, or just doing the ref's job for him. However you look at it though, the styles are very different. And it's the style the ref refs to that will perhaps ultimately determine the outcome. Now, that's a little sad of course, there are 22 guys on the pitch trying to win the game, they are the ones that count. But it can happen. That's part of the game.

But this one thing I will say. Even if the ref's style means we lose, PLEASE don't actually blame him. It's his interpretation. It doesn't mean we were robbed.

Here's to hoping it's a great, entertaining spectacle, and here's to seeing the Socceroos in the final 8!!!!


GO AUSSIE!