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Australia men's national soccer B team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia B
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFootball Australia
Most capsJim Patikas (9)
Top scorerDoug Brown (2)
FIFA codeAUS
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Australia B 0–0 Rangers Scotland
(Melbourne, Australia; 27 May 1984)
Biggest win
 Australia B 2–0 China 
(Canberra, Australia; 23 September 1985)
Biggest defeat
 Australia B 4–0 Rangers Scotland
(Newcastle, Australia; 7 June 1984)

Australia B is a secondary soccer team occasionally as support for the Australia national soccer team. The team has only ever played nine matches; winning one, drawing six, and losing two. It has been inactive since 1985.

Concept and history

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The national B team was designed to give games to players who were being considered for call-up to the full national squad. Generally, the team played in friendly matches against other international B teams or club sides.

Australia B were one of several teams which entered a "World Series" held in Australia in 1984, which included Rangers, Juventus, Australia A, Nottingham Forest and Iraklis. They were coached in the tournament by Eddie Thomson[1]

In 1985, Australia B played two games against China in the leadup to the 1987 Ampol Cup between China and Australia. They were coached by John Margaritis in both games.[2]

In 2007, then-Australia coach Graham Arnold, himself a former B international, flagged the idea of reviving the national B team.[3]

Statistics

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Results and fixtures

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1984

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27 May Australia B Australia 0–0 Scotland Rangers Melbourne, Australia
[4] Stadium: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Jim Fearn (Australia)
31 May Australia B Australia 1–2
Scotland Rangers Brisbane, Australia
Egan 38' Clark 43'
Ferguson 74'
Stadium: Lang Park
Attendance: 2,257
Referee: Bill Monteverde (Australia)
5 June Australia B Australia 1–1 Scotland Rangers Adelaide, Australia
McCulloch 30' McClelland 32' Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 4,300
Referee: Jim Rossis (Australia)
7 June Australia B Australia 2–4
Scotland Rangers Newcastle, Australia
Blair 18'
Brown 85' (pen.)
Paterson 19'
Burns 67'
McCoist 75'
Cooper 78'
Stadium: Adamstown Oval
Attendance: 6,292
Referee: Jim Reeves (Australia)
11 June Australia B Australia 0–0
England Nottingham Forest Sydney, Australia
Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Garry Power (Australia)
13 June Australia B Australia 0–0
Greece Iraklis Brisbane, Australia
Stadium: Lang Park
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Alan Kibbler (Australia)
17 June Australia B Australia 1–1
Greece Iraklis Melbourne, Australia
Brown 67' (pen.) Report Papadopoulos Stadium: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance: 18,732
Referee: Spiers (Australia)

1985

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23 September Australia B Australia 2–0
 China Queanbeyan, Australia
Petersen 50'
Wade 72'
Stadium: Seiffert Oval
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Richard Lorenc (Australia)
25 September Australia B Australia 1–1
 China Sydney, Australia
Arnold 76' Ma 28' Stadium: St George Stadium
Attendance: 1,530
Referee: Garry Power (Australia)

Historical statistics

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Player records

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Most appearances

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Rank Name Caps Goals Years
1 Jim Patikas 9 0 1984–1985
2 Steve Blair 7 1 1984
Tony Henderson 7 0 1984
Mike O'Shea 7 0 1984
5 Charlie Egan 6 1 1984
Peter Katholos 6 0 1984
Peter Lewis 6 0 1984
Richard Miranda 6 0 1984–1985
John O'Shea 6 0 1984

Goalscorers

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Rank Name Caps Goals Years
1 Doug Brown 5 2 1984
2 Graham Arnold 2 1 1985
Steve Blair 7 1 1984
Charlie Egan 6 1 1984
Tom McCulloch 3 1 1984–1985
Mike Petersen 2 1 1985
Paul Wade 2 1 1985

Managers

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References

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  1. ^ Stock, Greg. "Socceroo B Matches for 1984". OzFootball.net. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. ^ Stock, Greg. "Socceroo B Matches for 1985". OzFootball.net. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. ^ Cockerill, Michael (17 March 2017). "Arnold's plan B: Socceroos seconds to nurture the next generation of stars". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Franken earns Australia draw". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 May 1984. p. 33.