Football news 2023: Lucas Neill avoids prison; Socceroos 2006 World Cup squad, where are they now?
WWOS staff
A look back at the Australian 2006 World Cup squad, and what each Socceroos star is doing now.
/favicon.ico
Nine
The Socceroos starting XI for their 2006 World Cup clash with Croatia

The 2006 Socceroos - seen here with their starting XI for their crunch game against Croatia - are undeniably one of Australia's most-beloved sporting teams ever.

Here's what every member of the 23-man squad for that FIFA World Cup are up to now.

1. Mark Schwarzer

The goalkeeper enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the English Premier League both before and after the tournament, retiring in 2016 after long stints with Middlesbrough and Fulham, and cameos for Chelsea and Leicester.

Now living in London, Schwarzer has remained in the media, working as a pundit since his retirement.

2. Lucas Neill

T he defender, who shot to national fame after 2006 thanks to his heroic performances, signed with West Ham United a year after the World Cup and would later join Everton and Galatasaray, before stints in the UAE and Japan either side of a brief period with Sydney FC.

Neill was the player who was infamously called for a stoppage-time foul on Italy's Fabio Grosso which led to a penalty in the round of 16 clash at the World Cup.

Despite his successful football career, a series of poor investments saw Neill file for bankruptcy in 2016, just two years after his retirement.

He has become almost reclusive and this week broke his silence on his struggles after succeeding in a court battle.

"I've won my freedom, but I feel like I've lost in life," he said after the verdict.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

4. Tim Cahill

Australia's most-prolific men's player ever, Tim Cahill became a household name after his two-goal heroics against Japan in 2006, and is one of just a handful of players from any nation to score at three World Cups.

Cahill is now based in Qatar where he works at the Aspire Academy, which is where the Socceroos are based for the upcoming tournament.

He was appointed as Australia's head of delegation for the 2022 World Cup.

6. Tony Popovic

After retiring in 2008 with Sydney FC, he began his coaching career at the Sky Blues before becoming an assistant at Crystal Palace, and was then appointed manager of Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012.

He oversaw the club's most-successful period, winning the Asian Champions League, and then landed brief club gigs in Turkey and Greece either side of spending two seasons at Perth Glory.

After returning from Greece, he was appointed Melbourne Victory manager in 2021.

7. Brett Emerton

A stalwart at Blackburn Rovers for nearly a decade, Emerton spent two and a half years at Sydney FC before retiring due to back injuries in 2014.

Emerton is currently working with the Macarthur Rams, heading up their young program for 9 to 12-year-olds, where his two boys are also playing.

8. Josip Skoko

The midfielder left Australia as a teenager and spent more than a decade playing across Europe before finishing his career in 2011 with Melbourne Heart.

In 2021, while back in Melbourne, he was one of 11 Australian football legends appointed to an advisory panel known as the 'Starting XI' to help on matters relating to the national set-up.

10. Harry Kewell

A rguably Australia's most-talented player ever, Kewell scored the decisive goal that took Australia past Croatia and into the round of 16.

His club career continued with Liverpool after the tournament, before playing for Galatasaray in Turkey and then returning home to play for both Melbourne Victory and Heart, with a brief stint in Qatar in-between.

He retired from football in 2014 and began his coaching career, managing at several lower league teams in England before becoming an assistant to Ange Postecoglou at Celtic.

13. Vince Grella

A combative midfielder, Grella was always a fan favourite in a Socceroos jersey and after over a decade in Italy's top flight, moved to Blackburn Rovers. After moving back to Australia to play in the A-League, a torn calf on debut forced him to retire after just one appearance for Melbourne Heart.

He then worked as a player agent and earlier this year was appointed vice-president of Italian club side Catania, following the re-birth of the club in the fourth tier, after going bankrupt and being bought by an Australian-born businessman.

16. Michael Beauchamp

T he defender didn't feature in the tournament proper after making his debut in a warm-up game against Leichtenstein, but got his chance on the world stage four years' later against Serbia, which ended up being the last of his 22 caps.

A reliable defender for a host of A-League clubs in the years following, Beauchamp works in sales now, and is also a coach at AC United in Sydney's west.

17. Archie Thompson

The striker also didn't play a minute during the tournament, but has remained at the forefront of Australian football ever since.

Thompson has been a long-time face of A-League coverage since retirement, and, of course, still holds the record for the most goals in an international match with 13 against American Samoa.

18. Zeljko Kalac

T he goalkeeper was a long-time number two at AC Milan, before becoming a coach after retiring in 2010.

He famously took Mark Schwarzer's place between the posts for the Socceroos' 2006 group game against the nation of heritage, Croatia. Australia drew that game 2-2, but it was a forgettable outing for the man nicknamed 'Spider', who was culpable for both the goals scored by Croatia.

After retirement, Kalac worked as a goalkeeping coach at both Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers before honing Tony Popovic's men at Karabukspor in Turkey. He is currently the manager of Croatia side NK Urania Baska Voda in that nation's third tier.

Coach - Guus Hiddink

The Dutch supercoach's time with Australia was short, but extremely impactful.

After working his magic with the Socceroos, Hiddink was appointed Russia manager before his first interim stint with Chelsea, the Turkish national team, Russian club side Anzhi Makhachkala, a return to the Dutch national team, a second stint with Chelsea, China's under-21s and then finally, the Curacao national team.

Hiddink was recently welcomed back to Australia as a hero for the Socceroos' centenary celebrations, where he served as an assistant to Graham Arnold for their friendly against New Zealand.

Assistant - Graham Arnold

A rnold is, of course, the current Socceroos manager - but took a long road back to get there after initially taking over for Hiddink following the 2006 World Cup.

He coached the team through a subpar 2007 Asian Cup campaign, and continued in his assistant and under-23s roles even after Pim Verbeek was appointed in the top job.

Arnold enjoyed plenty of success at the Central Coast Mariners before a rough three months in Japan with Vegalta Sendai saw him return to the A-League and oversee a dominant five-year stretch with Sydney FC, which resulted in him being appointed Socceroos boss after the 2018 World Cup.