Australia were placed in a tough group in qualifying, having been pipped with Japan and Saudi Arabia, but they did manage to finish second in Group C to ensure automatic qualification to their sixth consecutive World Cup. They had their best World Cup campaign four years ago, where they picked up two victories for the very first time, defeating Tunisia and Denmark in the group stages. They were knocked out by eventual winners Argentina in the Round of 16 to match their furthest progression in a tournament - in 2006, Australia were knocked out by Italy at the Round of 16 stage, who went on to lift the trophy.