Australiaâs former confederation is the smallest and weakest of the six that fall under the auspices of the world governing body FIFA. Victories were frequent but too comfortable. The 31-0 slaughter of American Samoa in 2001, still an international record, did not help anyone.  Even what seemed to be a relatively straightforward World Cup qualification route often was not. It involved becoming Oceaniaâs representative, which was usually easy, and then a two-legged playoff against a battle-hardened team from South America or Asia, which was not. It was a short, sharp shock of frantic competition and intense pressure after 3 years and 11 months of mostly gentle tests in the South Pacific.  On Jan. 1, 2006, Australia became the 46th member of the Asian Football Confederation in a bid to become a stronger soccer nation. This means it gets to participate in the quadrennial continent-wide A.F.C Asian Cup and will be host to the next edition of that tournament in 2015. It has also given the country access to the 2013 East Asian Cup, a smaller regional four-team tournament currently taking place in South Korea that includes the host, China and Japan. It has no effect on qualification for the World Cup but is a useful testing ground.  âBeing in Asia means we play a lot more competitive games against good teams, and that has been the biggest thing for the senior national team,â said Australia assistant coach Aurelio Vidmar. âWith qualification for the World Cup, we donât go through the old path of Oceania. We have lots of tough games, and that helps us improve,â he added.  In June 2013, Australia qualified for the 2014 World Cup through Asia for the second successive time.  But Australian clubs have been participating in the Asian Champions League since 2007, and almost 50 Australian players now play professionally in Asian leagues.  A new rule introduced in 2008 by the A.F.C. was the catalyst. The so-called Asian quota rule allowed clubs around the continent to sign an extra foreign player outside of the usual limit of three, provided he came from a fellow A.F.C. member nation.  It is changing the makeup of Australiaâs national team. At the 2006 World Cup, 20 of the 23 players on the roster were playing for European teams. But this year, when coach Holger Osieck named his 26 players for a series of vital World Cup qualifiers in June, only 10 were Europe-based, with 7 active in various Asian leagues and the rest either in Australia or North America.  âWe have a lot of players now playing in Asia, and if you go to a decent league then itâs O.K., and quite competitive,â Vidmar said.  Vidmar used Robbie Cornthwaite, now playing club soccer in South Korea, as an example of how playing in Asia can benefit a playerâs development.  âAfter he went, I didnât see him for a year, but now everything is a little bit different,â Vidmar said. âHis touch is better and he looks a lot sharper, all because they train a lot harder than we do. Weâve got so many more things happening in Australia for young players â outdoor activities and so many other sports, but here in Asia, it is the No. 1 sport.â  Matt McKay made his 39th appearance for Australia at the East Asian Cup opener against South Korea, a country where he spent a successful season in 2012 with the K-league club Busan IâPark. He then signed a two- year deal to play with the Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai, although he was released by the team this week.  âIâve played in two Asian leagues and they are good,â McKay said. âTechnically, we can learn a lot from playing there, and off the pitch, too, it is a very good experience. Being in Asia and having lots of players in Asia is changing Australian football.â  But Australiaâs transformation from a nation that has traditionally looked toward England, in soccer terms, into one that looks toward Asia may be a long one.  The Socceroosâ games in South Korea for the East Asian Cup were somewhat overshadowed by the recent visits of English clubs to Australia for exhibition games. A combined total of 178,000 fans saw Manchester United in Sydney, and Liverpool in Melbourne.  The influence of the old country can still be felt in the teamâs physical and direct style of play under Osieck, a German.  Gary White, the coach of Guam, who acted as a technical observer while watching Australia play South Korea to a 0-0 tie last weekend, said that âAustraliaâs football looked like the English league of the early â90s, with not a lot of thought about what they were doing, and they played the ball long.â  He added: âAustralia couldnât cope with the Korean speed, touches and combination play, but that is why these games are necessary. Playing teams like South Korea and Japan is good for their development.â  Australia improved against Japan later in the week, although it lost the game, 3-2. It next plays China on Sunday.  More than the results however, the tournament is a welcome opportunity for Australia, as well as Japan and Korea, to field experimental squads with the 2014 World Cup less than a year away.  âThis tournament is really useful for us,â McKay said. âIt is the first time to be involved and it gives a lot of our younger players an opportunity to show what we can do.  âTo play three games in a week against tough opposition is exactly what we need, and it shows the benefits for Australian football to being in Asia,â he said.
Since becoming a member of the Asian Football Confederation, Australia has seen a rise in its soccer fortunes as its players take on a more technical aspect.