A question to remain: Australia's difficult quest for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, really that difficult?

Australia may have been through the third round, but it is no guarantee. It has been a haunting question for the Aussies, long one of Asia's leading football superpowers. Of course, Australia was a bit weird in this qualifier, not in exact perfect form, but somehow, they got a perfect record, eight wins out of eight. Their opponents were also strangely balanced: Nepal and Chinese Taipei were typically the weakest, while Jordan and Kuwait being the most paranoid. Paranoid because of historical record indicated, some aspects, that Australia trailed behind these two opponents. This time, however, Australia beat both of them, albeit Kuwait was weakened by internal strife, while Jordan, Australia's kryptonite, underperformed than what they used to handle Australia back in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

That was not to say Australia had no flaws, but considering how Australia went into this qualification, it was a big improvement. Even during its golden era back in the 2010 qualifiers, Australia still failed to gather perfect records. Unfortunately, these wins don't convince many Australian fans very much.

It has the reasons. Australia performed poorly back in the 2014 and 2018 qualifiers, where the Aussies slipped into the second, and third, respectively, though Australia still reached their dreamlands in the end. The 2018 qualification was especially bombarded, due to Australia's unconvincing third-place finish, behind even Saudi Arabia, and was forced to play four arduous playoffs against Syria and Honduras, to finally appear in Russia. Australia was the Asian champions by the time.

A post by John Duerden to the Guardian published about Australia's potholes, a sense of vulnerability can be seen by many opponents, notably Saudi Arabia and China, that the Aussies could face entirely difficult tests like they have never seen before. Definitely bigger and more problematic. Moreover, it is uncertain that if Australia can host these fixtures, considering the COVID-19 pandemic and restriction measures in Australia, one of the strictest in the world. Australia has suffered lesser casualties from the pandemic, one of the very few countries where fatalities have yet to reach 1,000, but it could change with the Delta variant spreading, hence the very unclear expression from Socceroos' boss Graham Arnold. Not really match with the economic power Australia obtained, one of the G20 nations.

But even when Australia may be under siege of criticism, it should be paid attention that even Saudi Arabia, Japan, China may appear not also stable. Though less with Japan, and more with Saudi Arabia and China. Japan is Asia's best team right now, it won't be a surprise if Japan finishes among the top two.

For Saudi Arabia, the Saudis have long possessed remarkable football skills and technical capabilities that resulting in Saudi Arabia reaching the Asian Cup finals five consecutive times, starting with 1984 before ending in 2000 (by then, Australia was not an AFC member). True, under Hervé Renard, the Saudis have become more dangerous, fluency, aggression and belief. They showed by how they demolished Palestine, Yemen, Singapore and Uzbekistan, even knocking the Uzbeks out of the qualification. In some aspects, Renard instilled to the Saudis the way how the French performed back in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, despite it is not a complete, if not to say, flawed model - partly due to coaching change in the Saudi team. For a team with five World Cups, they still have many pros.

But that doesn't mean Saudi Arabia have no cons, outside the coaching changes. Historically unstable when playing abroad, Saudi Arabia has largely produced a dismal performance away, unless facing teams that appear to be weaker. Saudi Arabia may easily beat Vietnam in the away fixture, but not with the case of Oman, Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour. Back in the 2014 qualifiers, Saudi Arabia was held by Oman twice, thus responsible for Saudi Arabia's early dismissal. Australia was also part of this group, the other being Thailand. Oman is really a problematic side for Saudi Arabia, as the Saudis have never tasted a win in Oman since the mid-2000s. Not just because of cultural familiarities, many Omanis have similar footballing styles like the Saudis, ensure Saudi Arabia's advantage being neutralised. Not to say China and Japan, where both sides appear far more stressful for the Saudis than Oman - playing in these East Asian nations have usually been difficult, with Saudi Arabia ended up losing in the majority.

Australia appears to have such an identical climate. It is the driest nation in the world to have humans inhabited, with 65% being desert, thus allowing Australian players to play in the Middle East like how they play at home. Unsurprisingly, the stamina and aggressiveness of the Australians, rooted in this home ground, is what made them overcome Saudi Arabia. The 3-1 win in Riyadh back in 2014 qualifiers explained this. However, I do agree that time has changed, and Saudi Arabia has become more mature following this defeat. The 2-2 draw in Jeddah back in 2018 qualifiers, from my view, was costly for Australia.

Towards China, it has been recognised as a football giant, and the Chinese Super League is an answer for China's economic weight. In the early 2010s, as China progressed, so does the league, more superstars have transferred to China to earn more money and wealth, as well as fame, in the world's most populous country. President Xi Jinping, who himself is an avid football fan, declared that China must host, qualify and win the World Cup by 2050. The national team of China has been receiving billions to develop the team as well as football facilities. Some of the world's largest football academies are based in China. Now, China is helped by some naturalised players from Brazil and England, notably Nico Yennaris (played for Arsenal) or Elkeson.

Yet it seems like large investments don't guarantee success. Lack of a clear cohesive plan, trying to cut short by naturalising players of Chinese origins and Brazilians have not demanded the same fruit. The best and clearest example is China's inconsistent performance, only one World Cup to remember in 2002, and failing to win the Asian Cup. Meanwhile, Australia has won at least one, back in 2015. China also suffered two humiliating home losses, one to Thailand in Hefei (1-5 in 2013) that led to the sacking of Spanish coach José Camacho; the second being to Syria (0-1 in 2016), this time even worse, happening in Xi'an, a city considered lucky by Chinese Feng Xia, on the 2018 qualification. The 2022 qualification saw China struggling to qualify, only made to the last phase by a 3-1 win in Sharjah over a spiritless Syria that was already guaranteed to qualify to the same phase.

This generation is led by Li Tie, a former 2002 World Cup player, but with some exceptions like Wu Lei, the only Chinese to play abroad for Espanyol, or Zhang Yuning, the Chinese striker of 24 years old, most of the Chinese team is full of late 20 to 30-aged players based at home.

Then, the problem also further adds to Chinese nationalism. Recent tensions between Australia and China over the COVID-19 inquiry called by Scott Morrison have inflamed the fight, though yet to extend to football, can create an aggressive nature. Following the draw in Chinese media, it omitted Australia, instead of telling the Team Dragon (the Chinese football team's nickname) to focus on Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Obviously, Chinese nationalism dismisses Australia as a real opponent. It can be a blow for China when arrogance, instead of reality, takes place.

On the other hand, how will Australia prepare to rollout COVID-19 vaccines remain uncertain as vaccination is crucial for the country to host their home games. Australia has the advantage of having brethrenhood with Europe and North America, all share common cultural ties with Australia and use the same vaccines. Yet the country has only begun to buy, mostly from the United States, Germany and Britain, to combat the pandemic, only more than 9 million people have been vaccinated over 30 million Australians.

Australia, thus, needs to have 50% of its population immune to the pandemic to be no longer facing the dark reality of hosting their home fixtures abroad. If they can't host their home games in Australia, it'll be a threat to the country's football fortunes. On the brighter side, Australia can have VAR for their games, a bit thanks to the A-League.

Is it difficult for Australia? My answer is yes and no. Both.

They may have broken the Kuwaiti and Jordanian curses, but they'll have a lot of things to do. Saudi Arabia, Japan, China and maybe Oman sensed the weaknesses of the Aussies. Saudi Arabia is an updated version of both Jordan and Kuwait. Oman used to cause hardship for Australia back in the 2014 qualifiers, while China can try with its attempts given the power from naturalised players. Japan is no dispute. Saudi Arabia is an absolute opponent Australia must break through if it wants to win a place in Qatar.

But neither of these teams are perfect, so is Australia. While Australia does have a lot of thing to be questioned, China, Saudi Arabia, Oman and even Japan appear less okay than more, too. Frankly speaking, I don't think mentioning Vietnam can help given Vietnam's status in the group is too difficult for the Vietnamese. China and Saudi Arabia don't look to be always phoney. Oman is no easy, yet Australia can still find a way to win.

Moreover, the good news is that the A-League, Australia's top club football competition, is expanding and looking to emulate, not from North America, but rather Europe, the system of promotion and relegation, and redeveloping grassroots football in the country. It has brought some successes: the Olyroos qualified for an Olympic competition since 2008. The U-17 team made it into the round of sixteen in the 2019 U-17 World Cup in Brazil; the U-20 team has also slowly regained its status as a continental lustre. Australian football is seeing its revival when A-League began to call for promoting more native-born players, outside its already foreign-based ones. While the A-League has yet to see the promotion-relegation development, it may exist in the future, closer to typical world standards. Also mention, Australia doesn't have a clear star player like when they had Tim Cahill or Harry Kewell, but the Aussies now play in a more team-to-team like, based on the young blood mixing with the veterans within a cohesive unit, something that could even appeal to England's boss Gareth Southgate, who led the same revolution with England back in 2016.

But yes, if the Australians really believe they can be in Qatar, they'll have to not allow the old slumps to return like what the predecessors let it to happen in two previous qualifications. If not, Australia may suffer a painful exit, like how the United States missed out on Russia 2018. What China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Oman, maybe Vietnam found from the Socceroos, could be a warning sign for Australia.