Every four years it comes around, a tournament that is impossible to ignore, even if you are not a sports fan of any ilk. I speak of the 2026 football World Cup, held, on this occasion, in North America.

Australia is back for the 7th time and for the 6th time in a row. We are podded with the United States (one of the hosts), Türkiye and Paraguay, any one of which can beat each other. There is no obvious top-seeded team in this group, which makes picking winners very tricky. You would have to give the Americans some home-ground advantage I suppose, though getting out of the group stage is easier than usual, with the top two teams progressing. Eight teams who perform best in third place spot will also go to the round of 32. That is a generous path to progression indeed.

The Socceroos, therefore, have a decent opportunity to progress. The matter is entirely in their hands. A timid, defensive-minded posture will be a quick path to elimination. Sure, we don't have quite the quality of our opponents, but we have something else - call it what you will - the shirt, Australian pride, a tough-minded refusal to quit, some other x factor.

For my money the Turks will be the toughest match. We face them first up. A draw will, in many respects, be a win, in this group.