Source: Soccer World.

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Sunday March 4 1973 Newmarket Ground, Auckland, New Zealand Referee: Lak Tat Sun (Hong Kong) Attendance: 12,000
New Zealand Kevin Curtin, Maurice Tillotson, Colin Latimour, John Staines, Ron Armstrong, Brian Turner, Alan Vest, Dennis Tindall (Brian Armstrong 77), David Taylor, Alan Marley (Geoff Brand 85), Malcolm Bland Coach: Barrie Truman Goal: Turner 57	1	-	1	AUSTRALIA Ron Corry, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Ray Richards, John Warren (Atti Abonyi 77), Ray Baartz, Adrian Alston, Max Tolson (Ernie Campbell 67), Branko Buljevic Coach: Rale Rasic Goal: Campbell 85
The first round of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Qualifying series was played in Australia and New Zealand. Australia was part of the Asia and Oceania zone, which was afforded one qualifying spot of the fourteen that were on offer (West Germany automatically qualified as hosts, Brazil as defending champions). The competing teams in Zone B-Group 2 were Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Iraq. Each team played each other twice, with the winner of the Group to play the winner of Zone B-Group 1. The opening match of the series was played in Auckland against New Zealand. After Australia's victory against New Zealand in Djakarta five months earlier, many supporters were expecting big things from Australia in the first match.
Match report by Lou Gautier
Sunday March 11 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: Govindsamy Suppiah (Singapore) Linesmen: Dau Van Dzu (Vietnam) and M.Nagashima (Japan) Attendance: 23,762 (double header)
AUSTRALIA Ron Corry, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, Jim Rooney, Adrian Alston, Ray Baartz, Branko Buljevic (Ernie Campbell 23) Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Richards 49, Alston 80, 85	3	-	1	Iraq Jalal Abdul-Rahman, Mejbil Fartus, Abid Kadum, Douglas Aziz, Sahab Khazal, Shidrik Yousef, Riyadh Nouri, Ammo Yousef (Bashar Rasheed 78), Sabah Hatim (Abdul Razzaq Ahmed 67), Salah Obeid, Ali Adnan Kadim Coach: Gyula Taleki Goal: Nouri 90
The second match was played against Iraq in Sydney. Rasic made a couple of changes, prefering Mackay to Warren and Rooney to Tolson. Australia went into the match as underdogs but played outstanding football to down the tournament favourites in convincing fashion.
Tuesday March 13 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: Dau Van Dzu (South Vietnam) Linesmen: K.Mahrendran (Malaysia), Luk Tat Sun (Hong Kong) Attendance: 12,763 (double header)
AUSTRALIA Ron Corry, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, Jim Rooney (Branko Buljevic 55), Adrian Alston, Ray Baartz, Ernie Campbell (Atti Abonyi 76) Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Campbell 22, Alston 42	2	-	1	Indonesia Ronny Pasla, Yuswardi, Sunarto, Anwar Udjang, Widodo H.S., Suaeb Rizal, Ronny Pattinasarany, Sarman Panggabean (Waskito 80), Iswadi Idris (Asmara 79), Jacob Sihasale, Abdul Kadir Coach: Dr Endang Witarsa Goal: Iswadi Idris 36
The third match pitted Australia against Indonesia in Sydney only two days after their magnificent display against Iraq. This time there was no great football and the Australians gave the crowd little to cheer about. The see-sawing form of the side was a mystery but Australia did manage to beat the Indonesians 2-1 and continue their unbeaten run.
Friday March 16 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: K.Mahendron (Malaysia) Linesmen: Govindsamy Suppiah (Singapore), Luk Tat Sun (Hong Kong) Attendance: 14,071
AUSTRALIA Ron Corry, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, Jim Rooney, Adrian Alston, Ray Baartz, Branko Buljevic Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Utjesenovic 11, Baartz 19, Buljevic 26	3	-	3	New Zealand Kevin Curtin, Maurice Tillotson, Colin Latimour, John Staines, Ron Armstrong, Brian Turner, Tommy Randles, Dennis Tindall, Alan Vest, David Taylor (Max Davies 75), Brian Hardman (Tony Sibley 46) Coach: Barrie Truman Goals: Vest 10, Tindall 50, Hogg 86 Own Goal
The next match for Australia was the return leg against New Zealand. After their poor showing in Auckland the Socceroos were expected to account for their Trans-Tasman rivals, but once out on the pitch, expectations came to zero. Although Australia led 3-1 at the half hour, they allowed their opponents back into the match with some bad errors. At the same time, Iraq were held to a draw against Indonesia, ensuring Australia topped the group after four matches.
Sunday March 18 1973 Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia Referee: Masatoshi Nagashima (Japan) Linesmen: K.Mahendran (Malaysia), Dau Van Dzu (South Vietnam) Attendance: 10,684 (double header)
AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Jim Mackay, Ray Baartz, Ray Richards, Adrian Alston, Max Tolson (Jim Rooney 65), Branko Buljevic (Atti Abonyi 77) Coach: Rale Rasic	0	-	0	Iraq Sattar Khalef, Mejbil Fartous, Abid Kadim, Kuiser Abdul Hamid, Raheem Karim, Douglas Aziz, Riyadh Nuri (Shedrak Yousif 87), Bashar Rasheed, Abdul Razzaq Ahmed, Sabah Hatim (Ali Adnan Kadum 62), Salah Obied Coach: Gyula Taleki
The return match against Iraq in Melbourne was billed as the group decider. Australia knew that a draw here and a win against Indonesia in the last group match would seal qualification to the next phase. Australia were a picture of nerves at the start of the match but settled down to completely shut down Iraq with some rock solid defence.
Saturday March 24 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: Masatoshi Nagashima (Japan) Linesmen: Govindsamy Suppiah (Singapore), Dau Van Szu (South Vietnam) Attendance: 12,390 (double header)
AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Bobby Hogg, Jim Mackay, Ray Baartz, Ray Richards, Atti Abonyi, Adrian Alston, Branko Buljevic (Max Tolson 46) Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Mackay 3, 40, Abonyi 23, 54, Richards 72, Baartz 76	6	-	0	Indonesia Ronny Pasla (Yudo Hadianto 24), Sunarto, Anwar Udjang, Rachman Halim, Widodo (Sutan Harhara 46), Anjas Asmara, Suaeb Rizal, Sarman Panggabean, Waskito, Jacob Siharsale, Max Timisela Coach: Dr Endang Witarsa
In the final match of the group the pressure was on Australia to win. Iraq had beaten New Zealand and was now a point ahead of Australia with a slightly better goal difference.
Zone B Group 2 Standings Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 AUSTRALIA 6 3 3 0 15 6 9 9 2 Iraq 6 3 2 1 11 6 5 8 3 Indonesia 6 1 2 3 6 13 -7 4 4 New Zealand 6 0 3 3 5 12 -7 3
Note: As Group 2 winners, Australia advanced to the Zone B Final where it would play Iran over two home-and-away legs.
Saturday August 18 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: Rudolf Scheurer (Switzerland) Linesmen: Leslie Coffman (New Zealand), Govindsamy Suppiah (Singapore) Attendance: 28,881
AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, John Watkiss, Col Curran, John Warren, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, Atti Abonyi, Ray Baartz, Adrian Alston (Bill Vojtek 75) Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Alston 43, Abonyi 46, Wilson 85	3	-	0	Iran Nasser Hejazi, Mehdi Monajati, Gholamhossein Mazloumi, Ebrahim Ashtiani, Jafar Kashani, Akbar Kargarjam, Reza Adelkhani, Javad Ghorab, Parviz Ghelichkhani, Esmail Haj Rahimipur (Safar Iranpak 23 (Mohammed Sadeghi 46)), Mehdi Lavasani Coach: Danny McLennan
The first of two legs against Iran was played in Sydney before a capacity crowd at the Sydney Sports Ground. Australia was without stopper Manfred Schaefer who was recovering from an operation while Iran were without star striker Ali Parvin after a mishap during a practise match in New Zealand.
Friday August 24 1973 Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran Referee: Pavel Kasakov (USSR) Attendance: 128,000
Iran Mansour Rashidi, Ebrahim Ashtiani, Jafar Kashani, Akbar Kargarjam, Parviz Ghelichkhani, Ali Parvin, Karo Haghverdian (Javad Ghorab 76), Gholamhossein Mazloumi, Mohammad Sadeghi, Reza Adelkhani (Ashgar Sharafi 65) Coach: Danny McLennan Caution: Mazloumi Goals: Ghelichkhani 14 pen, 31	2	-	0	AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, John Watkiss, Col Curran, Ray Richards, John Warren (Jim Rooney 71), Jim Mackay, Atti Abonyi, Ray Baartz, Adrian Alston (Max Tolson 46) Coach: Rale Rasic Caution: Wilson
The return leg was played in a heatwave at high altitude in front of a capacity crowd of screaming home fans in Tehran. Australia's dominant lead was quickly eroded after falling behind 2-0 after the half-hour, but they desperately held on to take the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Sunday October 28 1973 Sydney Sports Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia Referee: Vital Loraux (Belgium) Assistant Referees: L.Koffman (New Zealand) and M.Sridaranof (Thailand) Attendance: 32,005
AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenevic, Peter Wilson (c), John Watkiss, Col Curran, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, John Warren (Ernie Campbell 75), Ray Baartz, Atti Abonyi, Adrian Alston (Max Tolson 60) Coach: Rale Rasic	0	-	0	South Korea Byun Ho-Young, Kim Ho-Kon, Yoo Kee-Heung, Kang Kee-Wook, Park Yung-Tae, Cha Bum-Keun, Ko Jae-Wook, Park Byung-Chul, Park Ee-Chun (Kang Tae-Hyun 65), Kim Jae-Han, Chung Kyu-Goong Coach: Moon Chung Shik
Australia had reached the final round of World Cup Qualifying for the Asia and Oceania zone, qualifying to meet South Korea for a spot in the 1974 FIFA World Cup Finals in West Germany. To be decided over a two leg home-and-away series, the first leg was played in Australia at the Sydney Sports Ground in front of a near capacity crowd.
Saturday November 10 1973 Municipal Stadium, Seoul, South Korea Referee: Arie Van Gemert (Netherlands) Linesmen: Tom De La Hunty (New Zealand), Lee Kan Chee (Hong Kong) Attendance: 27,000
South Korea Byun Ho-Young, Kim Ho-Kon, Yoo Kee-Heung, Kang Kee-Wook, Park Yung-Tae, Cha Bum-Keun, Ko Jas-Wook, Park Byung-Chul, Park Ee-Chun, Kim Jae-Han, Chung Kyu-Poong Coach: Min Byoung Dae Goals: Kim Jae-Han 15, Ko Jae-Wook 30	0	-	0	AUSTRALIA Jim Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Col Curran, Ray Richards (Adrian Alston 76), Jim Mackay, Jim Rooney, Atti Abonyi, Ray Baartz, Branko Buljevic Coach: Rale Rasic Goals: Buljevic 31, Baartz 47
The second leg was played in Seoul, South Korea in front of a parochial crowd at the Municipal Stadium. Australia, having failed to break the dead-lock at home looked to be in trouble at the half-hour as they fell two goals behind. Enter Branko Buljevic and Ray Baartz.
Tuesday November 13 1973 Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Referee: Arie Van Gemert (Netherlands) Linesmen: Tom De La Hunty (New Zealand), Lee Kan Chee (Hong Kong) Attendance: 28,000
AUSTRALIA im Fraser, Doug Utjesenovic, Peter Wilson, Manfred Schaefer, Col Curran, Ray Richards, Jim Mackay, Jim Rooney, Atti Abonyi (Adrian Alston 56), Ray Baartz, Branko Buljevic Coach: Rale Rasic Goal: Mackay 70	1	-	0	South Korea Lee Sae-Yun, Kim Ho-Kon, Yoo Kae-Heung, Kang Kee-Wook (Park Ee-Chun 80), Park Yung-Tae, Cha Bum-Keun, Ko Jae-Wook, Park Byung-Chul, Kim Jin-Kook (Chung Kyu-Goong 59), Kim Jae-Han, Kang Tae-Hyun Coach: Min Byoung Dae
With both home-and-away legs ending in draws, a third match was scheduled to find a winner. The neutral venue of Hong Kong was chosen and it was here that Jimmy Mackay immortalised himself in Australian football history when he blasted a 70th minute thunderbolt that guided Australia to victory and a place in its first ever FIFA World Cup Finals.

Last updated: 21 December 2023.