WHATEVER THE SPORT, you can guarantee that a World Cup will produce a few shocks. So why shouldn’t Australia beat Italy and go through to the quarter-finals of this one? I’m not going to pose as an expert on soccer — as we call it — but I recognise commitment when I see it and our boys have it in spades.

Thursday was really up and down for me. Hampshire are playing well overall but we had a disappointing period against Durham and lost a game we should have saved. A few hours later, I was at home with half a dozen of the lads, playing poker and biting my nails as we got the draw against Croatia we needed to qualify. Yes! Neutrals may reckon it was a controversial game and suggest things went our way. Well, it looked pretty clear-cut to me. We were good for the point. I was delighted to see Harry Kewell score the important goal near the end. I’ve met him a few times and I know things haven’t always gone his way at Liverpool.

This is a fantastic achievement. The national sports back home are cricket and Aussie Rules. Then you have the two codes of rugby. We didn’t play soccer at all at my school and I think that was the norm. In my time, I can only think of the Waugh boys who were decent soccer players. That will probably change because of what is happening in Germany. Soccer has been growing for a while and there are more Aussies playing professionally in England and the rest of Europe. Sport plays a big part in our national life and success lifts the country.

We’d only been in one World Cup before this — in 1974, when we didn’t even score. Any success goes down a storm and people are really getting behind the team.

When I was in Munich for the Brazil game I swear that at least half of the 66,000 crowd were Australian. They weren’t just the backpackers you find travelling from city to city in search of a good time. There were big businessmen, serious players who had flown from home to support Australia. The atmosphere inside and outside the ground was amazing, just one big party.

My interest in soccer started in 1989, when I arrived in England to play club cricket. One night I was out with some mates on the London Underground when this nasty- looking bloke pushed his face into mine, for no reason, and snarled: “Who do you support?” I took one look at his Chelsea shirt and said: “Chelsea, mate”. I’ve had a soft sport for Chelsea ever since.

The good thing is that I’ve not had to choose between my local teams, Southampton and Portsmouth. They are bitter rivals and although I don’t usually like to sit on the fence, I think it is wise in this case.

My favourite player is Steven Gerrard, but my favourite moment is always when Ruud van Nistelrooy is about to score and the commentator screams: “It’s Ruuuuuuuuud.” My Hampshire mates call me Ruud when we have our pre-match kickabouts, but let’s just say that Van Nistelrooy wouldn’t be too flattered. I’m hopeless and getting worse.

Being part of the ITV commentary team in Munich was a real experience. Terry Venables was Australia’s coach before the 2002 World Cup, so he was pretty happy when we put up a decent show. I hadn’t heard of Ruud Gullit before we were introduced. Not surprisingly, he didn’t know me either. But he seemed a pretty cool, laid-back guy.

Earlier that day I had been on another panel, for a Channel 9 programme that was based around The Footy Show. It is one of the most popular on television and the fact that a crew had travelled to Germany was another indication of the interest that has been generated. They hired a huge hall and pulled out a lot of big guns for the occasion, including Craig Johnston, who won’t need any introduction to fans in England. Ronan Keating sang and we had a performance by one of the guys from Men At Work.

I’ll be back in the land Down Under myself for the Italy game. My shoulder just needs a bit of a rest and I’m due to fly back tomorrow. All being well, I should be at home for the big kick-off a day later, crossing my fingers and screaming at the TV.