The Asian Cup 2011 qualifying draw was held by hosts Qatar in Doha last week while most Socceroo pundits were still analysing the national team's final round 2010 World Cup qualifying draw revealed just the week before.
With Japan undoubtedly the blockbuster fixture of Australia's World Cup qualifying draw, the Asian Cup qualifying draw has not disappointed Socceroo fans either with an intriguing home and away clash with passionate football neighbours Indonesia now awaiting Australia.
With Asian Cup 2011 qualification matches starting in January 2009 and spread over 14 months, last week's final round draw placed 20 teams into five groups of four with teams needing to finish first or second in their group to progress directly to the main event.
The Socceroos will play three matches at home and three away in qualifying Group B with Oman and Kuwait drawn alongside Australian and Indonesia.
Australia cannot afford to take any of these three opponents lightly – given the lessons provided at their first Asian Cup campaign last year and their difficult progress to an eventual quarter-final exit courtesy of Japan.
The preceding matches saw Oman draw with Australia 1–1, while the Socceroos lost 2–0 to Kuwait in an away match of the qualification stage. Indonesia showed huge improvement before huge home crowds in the main draw of this event in overcoming Bahrain and in hard fought one goal defeats to World Cup regulars South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
With the draw complete, the next questions for Socceroo coach Pim Verbeek and Football Federation Australia centre on the choice of home venues and likely playing squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers.
The expectation will be for the selection of a largely A-League Socceroo squad for the opening two qualifiers to be played during January during an intense period of the A-League and European domestic league seasons.
But with these two matches falling just weeks before Australia's crucial World Cup qualifier away to Japan, they also provide an added opportunity to refine tactics and prepare available players for that crunch fixture.
With the World Cup home qualifiers over the next year likely to be scheduled for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as they were this year, the three Asian Cup home qualifiers also grants Football Federation Australia the strategic opportunity to showcase the Socceroos further afield in venues such as Adelaide, Perth or the Gold Coast.
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