After hearing about the 2022 70+ World Cup in Denmark, the idea of an Australian team going to the 2023 70+ World Cup in Thailand came into being.
So, the OASIS Oldyroos O/70 team was formed.
Talking to players at the Gold Coast Pan Pax Masters in November showed there was interest among players, which allowed us to successfully recruit for an Australian team to go to Chaing Mai.
The players comprising the OASIS Oldyroos played with various OASIS member teams, including Alive N Kicking, Balmain, Hillsbillies, Camden Hasbeens, South Coast Rhinos and Canberra Old Boys.
The Thai weather made for some tough conditions, with hot temperatures, high humidity and wet fields from heavy rainfall all making playing the ball more difficult than usual.
We had to play teams from USA, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.
With two wins, two draws and two losses, we had to win our last game against the team coming second – NC United – to make the play-offs. Five teams were playing for the third and fourth places.
The Oldyroos managed to score the winning goal with five minutes to go, winning 2-1, followed by a tense wait for the results of the other games to secure our spot in the top four.
Coming fourth, we had to play off against third-place Taiwan for the bronze medal.
This was the eighth game over five days, 11 v 11 full field 60 minute games.
After a 5-2 win against Taiwan earlier in the week, our opposition was determined to bring home the bronze.
The Oldyroos scored first and led until midway through the second half, with Taiwan scoring an equaliser to end of the match 1-1, resulting in a penalty shootout.
In a tense finale to the competition, both teams were at 6-6 before our keeper stopped the opposition from scoring. The OASIS Oldyroos scored to win the bronze medal for Australia!
What’s next?
