Australia's Qualification Calculation

The FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off between Australia and Uruguay is balanced on a knifes-edge, with a winner hard to pick at this stage. We explain the different scenario's that face Australia in the second leg.

The FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off between Australia and Uruguay is balanced on a knifes-edge, with a winner hard to pick at this stage.

Wednesday night at Telstra Stadium will decide who qualifies for Germany 2006, with Uruguay taking a slender 1-0 lead into the second leg, after meeting in Montevideo on Saturday night.

Both teams have arrived safely in Australia, although the recovery from the long flights could have an effect on the outcome of the second leg.

So what score does Australia need to beat Uruguay by to qualify for its first FIFA World Cup finals in 32 years.?

We go through the different scenarios that each team requires in order to qualify, remembering that Uruguay currently leads 1-0 on aggregate.

*          Simply a draw or loss by Australia will see Uruguay qualify.

*          For Australia to qualify outright, they must win the second leg by two (2) clear goals

*          A 1-0 win by Australia will see the aggregate at 1-1 and will mean extra time. Extra time is played over two 15 minute halves (30 minutes in total), plus any injury time. In extra time, the team that scores the most goals will obviously be the winner. However in the case that both teams score the same amount of goals in extra time, Uruguay would qualify based on the away goals rule. The away goals rule counts away goals as double in the event of an aggregate tie.

*          If no further goals are scored in extra time and the aggregate over the two legs remains at 1-1, it will be decided by a penalty shootout.

*          If Uruguay scores in normal time (90 minutes) and loses the match by one (1) goal, Uruguay will still qualify based on the away goals rule eg 2-1 or 3-2.

Below is a list of scores (Australian wins only) and the outcomes as a result of those scores

1-0  See above 2-0 Australia qualify 2-1  Uruguay qualify 3-0 Australia qualify 3-1 Australia qualify 3-2  Uruguay qualify 4-2 Australia qualify 4-3 Uruguay qualify