page_title: History of the Australia national soccer team
section_title: 2007 AFC Asian Cup
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Australia national soccer team / 2007–13 / 2007 AFC Asian Cup
caption_attribution_description: Australian soccrer coach Graham Arnold
context_page_description: The history of the Australia national soccer team dates back to the team's formation and first ever international match in 1922.
context_section_description: Australia, led by Graham Arnold, went to their first Asian Cup in 2007, sending a strong squad which included 15 players from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Australia was drawn in Group A alongside (co-host) Thailand, Oman and Iraq.
  In their first match, Australia were only able to earn a 1–1 draw against a lower-ranked Oman team. Australia played poorly, with Oman leading for most of the match after Badar Al-Maimani scored in the 32nd minute, but were once again saved by Tim Cahill who scored a late equaliser in the 92nd minute after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
  Australia lost their second group match 3–1 to eventual Asian Cup winners Iraq, with Lucas Neill receiving a red card (90'), following two yellow cards. Mark Viduka scored the lone goal for the Australians in the 47th minute of the match which at that point in the game was the equaliser but Iraq scored another two goals to win.
  In the third match of the group stage, Australia defeated Thailand 4–0 with Mark Viduka scoring two goals, with Michael Beauchamp and Harry Kewell scoring one goal each. The victory assured Australia's progression to the quarter final stage of the tournament.
  After drawing 1–1 with Japan after extra time, Australia exited the tournament on penalties at the quarter final stage. The first two Australian penalty kicks were both unsuccessful by Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill with Australia eventually bowing out 4–3 to end their inaugural participation in Asia's most prestigious soccer tournament.
  In a friendly international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 11 September 2007, Australia were defeated by Argentina one goal to nil. The friendly was Graham Arnold's last game as head coach. It had been widely speculated that Dutchman Dick Advocaat would take over as Head Coach for Australia's 2010 World Cup Qualifiers by the end of 2007 but he backed out of a contract with the FFA to continue coaching Zenit Petersburg. It has been reported that FFA is considering legal action against both person and club. As a result, Australia's head coach position was left open, with technical director Rob Baan the caretaker for a match against Nigeria at Loftus Road, London (Australia winning 1–0.) The position was filled on 6 December 2007 when the FFA announced Pim Verbeek as the new head coach.
caption: After originally serving as an assistant coach, Graham Arnold was promoted to manager of Australia after the departure of Guus Hiddink. He oversaw Australia's unsuccessful 2007 AFC Asian Cup campaign.
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