‘The 2003 Discussion Continues: English Minds Still Haunted by Shock Loss to Socceroos, Ahead of Rematch Two Decades Later’

The Socceroos will look to emulate the efforts of their golden generation when they take on England’s finest in London on Saturday morning.

Twenty years ago, a Socceroos team led by Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka caused an upset at Upton Park that was seen as one of those casual humiliations to be buried in the hall of shame, at the end of the corridor that followed England’s unthinkable defeat to the United States in the 2017 1950 World Cup.

The Socceroos last faced England in 2016, losing 2-1 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

But that 2003 elimination of a team that included David Beckham, Michael Owen, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and debutant Wayne Rooney provides a delightful backdrop to the Socceroos’ first visit to Wembley.

And what ammunition does this give to Graham Arnold, the coach who was assistant to boss Frank Farina on that famous evening in February 2003 and who now has the opportunity to repeat the dose, but on an even bigger stage big.

“One hundred percent,” Arnold replied when asked if he would exploit the Anglo-Australian rivalry and the 2003 narratives.

Fueled by outrage, Farina’s boys learned before the match that then-coach Sven Goran-Eriksson had announced he would completely change teams at halftime.

“‘Who the hell does he think he is? Does he think we’re shit?’ We developed the narrative as coaches: ‘Look, they have no respect for us,'” Arnold told the Times this week.

“The Australian mentality has come through.”

And England found itself in disarray.

“We went up the tunnel and all you could hear was Beckham speaking to Sven, ‘We’re not going out. We can’t be 2-0 up at half-time and going out.’ Sven still changed the whole team,” Arnold said.

For a bunch of football-mad kids at home, waking up to go to school and learning the result – England 1, Australia 3 – lit a fuse.

Jackson Irvine, then 10 years old, remembers it like it was yesterday.