About this record

This is a black-and-white photograph of a match played between the Australian soccer team, the Socceroos, and Uruguay at Olympic Park, Melbourne, in 1974, in preparation for Australia's first-ever inclusion in the finals of the World Cup series in Germany later that year. It shows 2 players, one from each team, and the packed grandstand behind.

Educational value

• Portrays Australian soccer at a peak when the Socceroos were about to make their debut in the World Cup finals in 1974 – the Australian Soccer Federation organised 'friendly' matches between Australia and Uruguay, which had also qualified; the game pictured here was attended by 20,283 people and resulted in a scoreless draw.
• Shows Australia and Uruguay playing the first of 2 'friendlies' – while the game shown in this photograph was a tight match, the second friendly, played in Sydney, is chiefly remembered as the day that Australian striker Ray Baartz was felled by a karate chop from Uruguayan defender Luis Garisto, who was sent off for the incident; Baartz was declared medically unfit to play and missed the World Cup finals in West Germany.
• Reveals Australia playing a 'friendly' game with a team outside its own zone, illustrating Australia's isolation in the soccer world – the need to play 'friendly' games with high-level opponents stemmed partly from Australia's inclusion in the Oceania zone at that time, in which it had little opposition; Australia has now been admitted into the Asia zone; Europe and South America remain the strongest soccer zones.
• Depicts one of the Australian Socceroos about to tackle an opponent – increasingly, since the time of this photograph, Australia's best soccer players have played mainly for European clubs and have to return home to play for their country.
• Provides a view of the Olympic Park Stadium – Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with smaller events being held at Olympic Park; Olympic Park Stadium, with a crowd capacity of almost 20,000, is the home of soccer and Rugby League in Victoria.