Holger Osieck is the man

For 48 hours before the game, a major Sydney road was rechristened as the Tim Cahill Expressway. This was a man who had scored his country's first ever World Cup goal and at times had dragged the team through qualification. For years, he has been the source of goals when all others had run dry. Yet with 13 minutes remaining and Australia starting to come to terms with the realisation that they may not actually secure a place at Brazil, Holger Osieck changed things around.

And boy, did he make a change. In a stadium packed with more than 80,000 fans, Cahill was far from alone in looking nonplussed and annoyed to see his number up. In came Josh Kennedy. Within minutes Mark Bresciano, who did not see enough of the ball until the last quarter, sent over a perfect cross for Kennedy to head home. The striker known as Jesus may not walk on water but he does float through the air. In the trilogy of games in June, the German really took charge of the team in the 78th minute of game three, as decisively as when Darth Vader threw the Emperor into the core of the Death Star. Osieck has turned around his reputation almost as quickly as the Vader and deserves huge credit. The criticism would have been vicious. It was a big call that took big balls.

Pretty it wasn't

So often was it said before the game that three points was all that mattered, and not the performance, that it perhaps became a self-fulfilling prophecy. After the game, it was, all agreed, including captain Lucas Neill, "not pretty". After the spit and polish of Japan and the sparkle of Jordan this was all a bit huff and puff on a wet night in Sydney.

Australia gave the ball away too easily and when chances were created, they were wasted. Brett Holman was running into dead ends, Robbie Kruse just was not able to repeat his antics of a week previously when he got behind the defence almost at will, and the two full-backs were ineffective. There were mitigating circumstances. The pitch was poor and not helped by the pouring rain. In the end though, it provided a dramatic backdrop to celebrations as Australia qualified for a third successive appearance on the global stage. Now the Socceroos are World Cup regulars.

Iraq don't deserve to finish last

With five teenagers in the starting XI, the average Iraq player was a full decade younger than his green and gold equivalent. Their performance was impressive – doubly so when you consider the following: they play home games away; their federation, coach (apt to change quite often) and players spend as much time arguing with each other as they do focusing on the opposition; and their two biggest stars retired just last week. And then there was the fact that they were playing in front of over 80,000 fans against a highly experienced and hugely committed opponent as well as already being eliminated.

And yet Iraq showed what they were made of. After a shaky start, they started to pass their way out of defence in the first half. In the second they started to trouble Mark Schwarzer. Much more than Jordan last week, Iraq, whose players showed some delightful touches, made a game of it. In the end, their weakness in the air was punished but there was much to be pleased about. The experience will serve the players well in their Under-20 World Cup campaign next week and for much further into the future.

Australia like to leave it late

Late goals have been something of a specialty for Australia. The scene was set in the third round of qualification when all but three of the 13 goals scored came in the second half but the trend intensified in the final stage. Of the 12 goals scored in these eight games, just one has come before the break and just one more has come before the hour. Seven of the 12 scored have come in the last 10 minutes. For a team supposedly full of wheezing veterans, it suggests impressive stamina levels and a determination to keep going until the end.

This was Australia's first real World Cup campaign

Brazil's a hell of a long way from Asia. It is possible for an Asian nation to play 22 games in order to qualify for the World Cup and Australia's 14 almost pales into insignificance.

But while the Socceroos have not always provided inspiration, there's been plenty of perspiration. They have played in the 45 degree celsius heat of the Middle East, the humidity of Bangkok and the cauldron of Saitama in Japan. They have slogged it out on training grounds in Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Thailand. And they have sweated at home at times against opposition that have caused serious problems. Tuesday was the culmination of almost two years on the road. And it all rested on 90 minutes in Sydney and then … 45 minutes … then 20 minutes … then 15 minutes … then seven … and then it happened. And then came squeaky-bum time. After the Oceania route with its play-offs and the stroll four years ago, this was exactly the campaign Australia needed.