Welcome to Asia, Australian Football.

Welcome to Asia, Australian Football.

The torrid encounter against Oman, and, no doubt, the pain that is yet to come against Iraq and co, is the reason we will probably equal or better our performance at the next World Cup in South Africa.

Most of us, including this two-bobber, celebrated when we were accepted into Asia. The exposure, the tougher but fairer qualifying route, and the increased quality of the opposition would mean Australian Football would no longer be spinning it's wheels on the world and domestic scene.

I believe the Asian Cup will show us what that really means. Hard slog, reality checks, reputations and millionaire players count for nothing. Just performance on the park. And what that really means is that the National Team will get better. What we may just see at this Asian Cup, though, is that performances may get worse in the short term, until we make the shift in mindset.

Until earlier this year we didn't see the other side of the coin - stifling heat and humidity, stretcher bearers as 12th and 13th men, intolerant refereeing and monsoon showers.

Come qualifying time for the World Cup next year and into 2009, however, and there will be no more surprises, and no more naiveté to trip us up against teams like Iran, as has happened in the painful past.

The lads may have the bottle to do well in this tournament, but our opener has shown that there are many elements besides pure football to overcome. Hard games against wily opposition will make us stronger, and gutsy efforts to overcome these tough obstacles build the legend and draw the fans.

The Asian Cup looks set to be all it promised to be - an excellent proving ground for the Australian game and the 2010 Socceroos.