On this day 25 years ago, the Joeys completed a FIFA U-17 World Cup journey that, to this day, remains Australia’s best men's performance in a World Cup.
The New Zealand-based tournament saw Australia make it all the way through to the Final, where they were pipped to the trophy by powerhouses Brazil.
Mark Byrnes captained the team in 1999 and went on to win two National Soccer League Championships with Perth Glory.
We recently caught up with Byrnes, who shared his memories of that historic tournament.
The build-up and earning the captaincy
From Byrnes’ perspective, there was great familiarity among the group off the back of an arduous qualifying campaign.
The Joeys had to qualify through Oceania but then also needed to overcome the third-placed team in Asian qualification to make the World Cup, which they, of course, did.
Byrnes believes that if the side had qualified on a more efficient path, they might not have gone as far as they did in the tournament.
The 1999 Joeys skipper also suggested that a month’s preparation in South America playing against senior opposition before the tournament gave his team a platform to get out of a tough group.
“It was hard at times, and I think post that [South America], and leading into the World Cup, it was probably a little bit of an unknown as to how we would go,” he said.
“Obviously, the group we were in had Germany, who I think had won the European Championship or came close to, had Brazil, and then Mali as well.
“It was touted as the group of death, which I think most teams get put in, but it was a very hard group for us to go in and do well.”
Regardless of the difficulty of the opposition, Byrnes said the team believed they could be successful, featuring players who were operating in Europe and signing with clubs in Australia’s NSL.
“The team before us in ‘97 didn't manage to get there. So it was almost an expectation within our group, but also from Football Australia as well, to do well,” he continued.
“And we had a long, and we still do have a very long, history and good results at junior World Cups, so we knew we could get some really strong results.”
Byrnes was handed the responsibility of captaining the soon-to-be history-making Joeys squad.
The honour of skippering the team, especially considering their achievements, gives him a real sense of pride even today.
“I was lucky enough to go to the under-20 World Cup back in 1999 as well, so that was a really good experience for me going with the old boys and a lot of the Golden Generation that went on to play at really high levels and represent Australia as well,” he told us.
“It was a bit of a blood-in for me into the national team, and what was expected from the likes of the captain we had at the under-20s, who was Simon Colosimo.
“Having experienced people there, I learned a lot on that tour.”
The run to the semi-finals
After a tricky opening fixture losing to Brazil, the Joeys found themselves behind against Germany a few days later and faced early elimination from the tournament.
After scrapping their way back to beat Germany and then getting past Mali, the Joeys would not only avoid elimination, but earn top spot in the group.
This allowed the team to stay in Christchurch, where they would spend most of their tournament, helping the team settle.
Byrnes further credited the meticulous preparation of the coaching staff for the team’s strong run.
A quarter-final victory over Qatar saw Australia through to the semi-finals where they would face the United States of America.
The Australia U-17s had a dream start to the match, bursting into a two-goal lead with ten first-half minutes to play, but conceding either side of half-time condemned the Joeys to a penalty shootout.
Byrnes reflected on the inevitable nerves he felt heading into not just a penalty shootout, but one with a place in the World Cup final on the line.
“When you're in a tournament, you do practice [penalties] because at some point there's going to be penalties - or you hope there's not going to be - but you need to be as prepared as possible,” he said.
“I think part of my job was to also stand up.
“Who wants to take the first one? And there's not often a lot of people. So it was a case of, 'yep, look, I'll put my hand up and do it'.”
Byrnes scored his penalty, and then some spectacular goalkeeping from Jess Vanstrattan sent Australia into an historic U-17 World Cup final.
“I think it was a lot of relief after that. I think a lot of the tears are just happiness,” he reflected.
The final
The Joeys moved away from Christchurch for the first time in the tournament to face a Brazil team that had inflicted their only defeat so far.
Byrnes noticed some significant changes to the environment for the squad, compared to what they had experienced previously in the tournament.
“We're getting faxes from kids, and everyone's doing interviews and stuff like that,” he said.
“It was moving from Christchurch, probably a smaller town in a smaller city, up to Auckland, getting out to North Harbor stadium.
“We had okay crowds throughout the tournament, probably between four and eight thousand, but then leading into the final, it was a sell-out.
“For a lot of the boys, it was the biggest crowd they'd ever played in front of, and it was a definite shift in the excitement within the group as well.”
For Byrnes, stepping out to represent Australia in a World Cup Final was an emotional occasion, singing the national anthem in front of friends and family on the biggest stage.
However, the Joeys needed to sharpen their focus and rely on their preparation if they were to overcome giants Brazil.
“I think one of the benefits was we had played Brazil before in that opening game; we knew what they were like,” Byrnes continued.
“It was a bit of an arm wrestle. I think they'd done a lot of research on us, and we'd done a lot of research on them. They had some quality players in the team.
“It was restricting some of those players and making sure there were no shots.
“I think Adriano was built like a 25-year-old man at the time. So, making sure we could keep him away from the penalty area.”
The Joeys did just that and pushed Brazil all the way to a penalty shootout, which had proved an ally for Australia in the previous round against the USA.
Byrnes stepped up first again and went for the same spot, but unfortunately, put the ball wide. However, some more exceptional goalkeeping from Vanstrattan kept the Aussies hanging on with hope.
Another miss on Australia’s eighth penalty gave Brazil the advantage, which they duly took to claim the silverware.
The disappointment etched onto the faces of the USA team in the semi-finals seeped onto those of the Joeys after that final, yet 25 years on, Byrnes understandably looks back on the experience with great fondness.
“You don't think about the other team. Then, fast-forward, and you lose on penalties in the final, and then you watch it, and you sort of feel for them [USA],” Byrnes admitted.
“I had to do an interview straight after and got asked 'how do you feel?' And I was like, 'well, gutted, I don't have any words'. But it was also, give me some time, and I'll look back pretty fondly on it, and it's true.
“When we have kids when we're probably older in a nursing home or something, we'll talk about it. And, at that time, we didn't know what anyone was going to go on and do, either in sport or in their personal life.”