It wasn’t long after Australia returned home from qualifying for the World Cup in a series of far-flung playoffs that coach Ange Postecoglou dropped a bombshell.
It left Bert Van Marwijk to take the reins as temporary coach and finish off the Socceroos Russian campaign.
Not that the Dutchman was keen to look too far ahead…
A big challenge indeed, with Australia to take on the might of France in its opening match.
Not that Les Bleus are coming into the tournament in impeccable form as Paris-based Reuters sports correspondent Julien Pretot explains.
Coach Didier Deschamps is under pressure to deliver a trophy after captaining France to its last World Cup win 20 years ago.
And while his side is packed with talent and flair, it’s also prone to lapses in concentration and, according to Julien Pretot, a lack of experience compared with previous campaigns.
Factors the Mile Jedinak–led Socceroos with evergreen striker Tim Cahill up front will be keen to take full advantage of.
But there are other Group C challenges for Australia.
Denmark has been hailed as one of the fastest-improving teams in Europe.
It's has been unbeaten in the 11 games they’ve played since 2016, including an impressive 4-nil win over Poland.
Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Erikson has been a standout and his form could be the key to the Danes’ chances of progressing through the group stage.
The fourth team in Group C is Peru – the last country to qualify for Russia.
It has been a rollercoaster lead-up for the *200-to-1 rank outsiders.
Captain and top-scorer Paolo Guerrero had a six-month ban imposed after testing positive for cocaine extended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, ruling him out of the tournament.
It was a shattering decision for the expectant nation and the popular leader…
And a big blow to coach Ricardo Gareca...
But as fate would have it, there was a reprieve.
After he gained the backing of all three Goup C rival captains, the Swiss Federal Tribunal agreed to lift the ban temporarily pending an appeal, clearing Guerrero to play in the tournament.
The 34-year-old celebrated in style, scoring twice in Peru's 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia in a warm-up friendly.
Good omens for Los Incas, who haven't played in the World Cup for 36 years.
While they only conceded seven goals in eight matches last year on their fairy tale qualifying run to Russia, Peru isn't expected to progress far.
That would lead the Socceroos to vie with the Danes and the French to extend their own complicated World Cup fairy tale beyond the group stage.
Coach Bert Van Marwijk has spoken of the difficulty of cutting players out until he has his final squad.
And as the month-long tournament gets underway there'll be plenty of emotion ahead.
