It was only a little over two weeks ago when qualification for the World Cup looked problematic for Australia.

For Asia, the top two teams in each group automatically qualify. Australia sat equal third with Oman on six points, one point behind second-placed Jordan and seven points behind its greatest Asian rival, Japan. Although Australia and Iraq had a game in hand, such was the confidence level that Football Federation Australia CEO, David Gallop, went on the offensive by declaring that World Cup qualification was no longer a pre-requisite for the game's success.

Gallop's point wasn't without merit – many students of the game in Australia have long argued that sustainability would depend on the success of the domestic league, not World Cup qualification. But one wonders whether Gallop's position was more about readying fans for potential non-qualification than it was about long-term structural changes in the game.

And here's why. This is what qualification means for Australia.

1) Ker-ching!

That's the sound of the cash register as Gallop's finance department works on their 'best option' financial scenario for the next four years.

The A-League may be the engine room of growth, but World Cup participation gives a turbo-boost. In 2010, Fifa gave more than $12m to each of the 32 countries who qualified for the South Africa World Cup. Team transport and accommodation costs are met separately by Fifa, and if a team progresses beyond the first round, they get more. FFA can expect a windfall from Fifa of at least $14 million for 2014; the world governing body is extraordinarily wealthy and tends to build-in increases each tournament.

Many of FFA's commercial agreements – for example, the naming rights sponsor for the Socceroos, Qantas – have substantial bonuses attached to qualification and each time Australia make it, more sponsors circle around wanting to be part of the game.

Of course, the players get their fair share also. A collective bargaining agreement signed in January 2011 will see the 23-man squad in Brazil receive a share in a minimum of $5m. In South Africa, the players received $200,000 each.

2) The battle for hearts and minds

Over the years, professional football in Australia has struggled for financial sustainability because it has struggled in the battle for 'hearts and minds'.

There are many reasons why but the one that underpins everything, including the frustration of supporters of the game, is that football is not part of the mainstream national sporting culture, a culture that sees sport as an intrinsic part of the Australian character.

Sport has long played an important social and cultural role in Australia, but when it comes to football, it has historically related to communities which have just 'arrived'. Nowhere is this more apparent than in how football is portrayed by some sections of the Australian media.

However, every time Australia make the World Cup, there is a tectonic shift in culture and attitude.

People who wouldn't normally give 'soccer' a second thought realise there's a giant global party going on involving an Australian team and they want to be part of it.

By the time the 2018 World Cup in Russia takes place, this cumulative impact, together with the shifting demographics of the Australian population, will mean that football will cement its cultural standing in Australia. That is not to say the 'local' code of Aussie Rules or the other imported English code of rugby league will be supplanted in their respective geographical markets, but football will be a clear second.

3) Football credibility

Crucial to the code's credibility in Fifa and international eyes will be how Australia perform at the World Cup. If the Socceroos are not competitive, the impact of making it will be diluted at home and not add to Australia's standing and potential influence within the international football community.

Last time around, Australia qualified at a canter – with three games to spare – but never really recovered from a 4-0 walloping by Germany in the first game.

Some fear the same again in Brazil unless the Socceroos improve, especially as our stars will be another year older. That puts the evergreen Mark Schwarzer only a few months shy of 42 – which a goalkeeper can get away with – and captain Lucas Neill having turned 36. Tim Cahill and Mark Bresciano will be 34 and Tuesday night's goal scorer, Josh Kennedy, will be almost 32.

It has been one of the biggest criticisms of Holger Osieck's three-year reign as coach that he hasn't brought through younger players to assume the mantle of the 'golden generation' who qualified in 2006. Some experts say that's because there isn't sufficient talent coming through the ranks – not least because of a five-year hiatus in the national youth league when Frank Lowy axed the competition in 2004; others say the talent is starting to show itself now through some cameo performances from youngsters such as Robbie Kruse, Tommy Oar and Tom Rogic. They and their ilk have 12 months to step-up.

4) Remember Paul Keating?

The former prime minister was the first public figure to make the point that Australia is in Asia. More than 20 years on, as a nation, Australia is still coming to grips with that – and most Australian kids are still learning French rather than Chinese or Japanese at school – but Keating's vision will be showcased in Australia come January 2015.

That's when Australia plays host to what will be the largest sporting tournament in Australia that year – yes, bigger than the cricket World Cup – the Asian Cup.

Those who are managing the operations of the Asian Cup have grappled with the hard sell of some of the matches for that tournament. Having the Socceroos take part in a World Cup six months beforehand gives the Asian Cup Organising Committee an unparalleled opportunity to promote football, Asia and the conflation of the two, to the Australian community while the Socceroos strut their stuff in Brazil.

A third consecutive World Cup also gives FFA significant leverage in the political quagmire of the Asian Football Confederation.

5) The imagination factor

One of the 'imagine if' scenarios of football diehards concerns the competition for elite talent. Imagine if every talented sportsman (and woman) in Australia chose to play football rather than, say, Aussie Rules, rugby league, cricket or basketball: how good could Australia be?

Every time Australia makes the World Cup – especially in today's world of networked media 'on-the-go' – young, talented players who want to compete in a world sport on a world stage must think to themselves "Imagine if I could be there!"

It also puts Australian players who are in Brazil in the shop window for something bigger and better. Yes, the A-League is growing in leaps and bounds but the very best of Australian players will always aspire to play in the best and wealthiest domestic leagues for the foreseeable future – and that's to Australia's benefit in international tournaments such as the World Cup and the Asian Cup, as well as, ultimately, the A-League if they choose to return to play here as so many do.