Australia: Will they ever lose?

While I was watching Australia desultorily dismantle Kenya in the World Cup a stat was issued by the uninterested commentators: that the Australians’ inevitable victory would be their thirty-fourth consecutive win in the World Cup—a run that has extended over twelve years (and three World Cup tournaments) since 1999.

By any stretch of the imagination, that is an extraordinary number of victories, especially given that it’s hard for any team to maintain such excellence over a couple of years, let alone a dozen. What it also means is that the pressure on this Australian team—perhaps the weakest in the last three World Cups—will be immense. So far, of course, they haven’t lost a game. But stiffer competition than Kenya awaits. How long can this streak be maintained? Watch this space.