Aloisi was excited by the squad coach Graham Arnold had assembled in their fifth-straight appearance at the tournament, with a mix of youth and experience.

But with the Socceroos drawn in a "tough" Group D that includes the reigning World Cup champions, is there a path to progress?

FRANCE

The opening match of the Socceroos' campaign will be against France, who lifted the World Cup trophy for the second time in history in 2018. It's not quite the nightmare situation it may appear to be though.

"If you look at the French national team on paper, we should have no chance. But I give us a good opportunity to cause an upset here," Aloisi said, calling a draw a positive result.

"Normally under their manager Didier Deschamps they start slow in tournaments. They're not that free-flowing football team, they're very pragmatic.

"So we could frustrate them a lot and I think Graham Arnold will set us up to do just that, so they won't have space in behind for the likes of Kylian Mbappe, who is in unbelievable form for Paris Saint-Germain.

"We're going to have to defend a little bit deeper, and just frustrate the French."

History is also in Australia's favour, according to Aloisi.

"Any team that win a World Cup normally don't start well in the next one, and we have to hope that happens," the former Socceroo, who is part of the SBS commentary team in Qatar, said.

"The same thing happened to France when they won the 1998 World Cup and in Korea and Japan in 2002 they got knocked out in the group stage."

The Socceroos also have the benefit of recent experience playing France, narrowly losing to Les Bleus 2-1 in Russia at the last World Cup.

Aloisi suggested that Arnold may motivate the Socceroos by revisiting footage of that match to inspire them in Qatar.

"We out-ran and out-fought them," Aloisi said. "They've got some of the best players in the world, but our team spirit nearly helped us get an amazing result last time.

"The Aussie spirit, we're underdogs, we've got nothing to lose, let's go out there and cause the biggest upset in World Cup history - why can't we do that? That will be the message that Graham Arnold will put to the players."

TUNISIA

There's always been one team that stands out in the group stage as the easiest, or a must-win, and many Australian fans will put Tunisia in that category.

Aloisi warned the Socceroos not to underestimate the African nation however.

"They're not going to be easy-beats at all," he said.

"They've made six World Cups so they're like us. Qualifying through Africa is very hard, there's so many good teams, so they're technically good, they can mix it up, they can defend deep but they can also take the game to you.

"Tunisia played in the last World Cup, they didn't get through their group stage, but they showed glimpses of what they can do.

"They'll also look at our game thinking they can beat us, so it's going to be very open and there'll be chances for both sides."

DENMARK

For the second-straight World Cup Australia have been grouped with Denmark.

While the Danes aren't world champions like France, they emerge as the second-most difficult match-up and the bad news for the Socceroos is that Aloisi believes they've improved since 2018.

"They're definitely a better team than the last World Cup," Aloisi said.

"They're a great side with quality all over the pitch, and in the national team they seem to grow even more. So they're going to be very difficult."

In Russia the Socceroos managed a 1-1 draw against Denmark and limiting their opportunities will be the focus yet again, as well as flexing some attacking muscles up front.

"We're going to have to be very, very tight at the back and make sure that in the midfield the likes of Christian Eriksen doesn't get a lot of space," Aloisi said.

"Especially just outside the box they can hurt you with their movement.

"That's our third game, so it also depends whether we need a win or a draw - we may face it in different ways.

"But I actually think we can try and take the game to them. If we sit off them they will hurt us. So I'm hoping that we start on the front foot and put them under real pressure."

CAN WE PROGRESS?

Aloisi was part of the last squad to advance past the group stage at a World Cup in 2006, and despite the side looking very different to that golden age of Australian football, he is upbeat about these Socceroos doing the same.

"I believe we definitely have a chance to progress," he said. "The important one is that if we lose that France match, that we don't lose by too much, because goal difference can play a part.

"Four points could get you through this group stage. We're hoping that we can beat Tunisia, even though it won't be easy, and then if we get a point from either the France or Denmark game, that will probably get us through.

"We need all the experience and then also some of those enthusiastic young players that play without fear to stand up."

The Qatar World Cup has attracted plenty of controversy since it was announced as the 2022 host with an unprecedented November start date, but Australia have some advantages having played numerous matches there in recent years.

"We can get through the group. We know Qatar really well," Aloisi said.

"We played a lot of qualifiers there, we know the surroundings, they're staying at Aspire Academy which is probably the best place to stay in Qatar, and the stadiums have air-conditioning which is a little bit different to what everyone is used to.

"The preparation is not the normal three or four weeks too, so teams haven't got as much time to prepare, which could also be in our favour."

WHO WILL WIN THE TOURNAMENT?

Sadly Aloisi doesn't rate the Socceroos' shot at going all the way to win the World Cup.

His best picks to stand atop the winner's podium in the final in Qatar include Brazil, France, Spain, England and Portugal, with Argentina his top prediction.

"My heart wants Argentina to win for Lionel Messi because this will be his last World Cup," Aloisi said. "I'd love to see him win because to me he's the best player of all time.

"To see him lift the World Cup trophy would be an amazing thing."

AUSTRALIA'S GROUP D MATCHES

France v Australia - Wednesday, November 23, 6am

Tunisia v Australia - Saturday, November 26, 9pm

Australia v Denmark - Thursday, December 1, 2am

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