Expectations were already shooting into the night sky above Sydney, but the Dutchman responsible for re-introducing Australia to World Cup fever was not inclined to show a sense of proportion.

As the Socceroos celebrated their passage to their first World Cup in 32 years, Guus Hiddink was asked how far the men in green and gold could go.

"All the way," he said.

"'All the way' is very far. But we are now in a good mood, so let's say today, 'all the way'."

Earlier, in a surreal moment, John Travolta had marched into the celebrating Australian dressing room to announce: "That was the best game I've ever seen. You guys are awesome."

It was that kind of night.

Hiddink, of course, knows all about bearing the burden of a nation's sporting dreams, especially a nation desperate for the world's respect.

Long before he was to be linked with the coaching role for England and Russia, he turned South Korea - who had failed to win a match in five previous World Cup appearances - into semi-finalists and the story of the tournament.

The Koreans' pre-Hiddink era was little short of an embarrassment to the football authorities in a country that had long dominated Asia's qualifying tournament for the World Cup, but had never been capable of taking the step up to competing against the game's best.

In five previous World Cup appearances from 1954 to 1998, South Korea drew four and lost 10 of their 14 fixtures, scoring just 12 times while conceding a massive 48 goals.

By June 30, 2002, however, the Dutchman had masterminded wins over the likes of Portugal, Poland, Italy and Spain - defying even the most optimistic predictions.

After just 18 months in charge Hiddink had turned a hard-running, physical Korean side incapable of dominating against non-Asian opposition into a team that utilised their attributes and fitness to become the continent's most successful World Cup participants, overshadowing North Korea's run to the quarter-finals in 1966.

Three years down the track, Hiddink was charged with ending another of world football's great hoodoos by delivering Australia their first World Cup appearance since 1974 after a series of heartbreaking near-misses.

Appointed in July following Frank Farina's post-Confederations Cup resignation, the Dutchman had less than four months to prepare his new team for the play-off against Uruguay, Australia's nemesis from the 2002 qualifying campaign.

The opportunity to judge his team in a competitive fixture had been limited to a 9-1 aggregate win over the Solomon Islands in September but the former Real Madrid, Valencia and Holland coach saw enough to give him a few ideas.

A 5-0 friendly win over Jamaica at Fulham's Craven Cottage in early October and training camps in Holland - as a result of Hiddink retaining his position as head coach at PSV Eindhoven - have allowed the 59-year-old to assess his squad, in particular those based in Europe.

Play-off disappointments in four of the last five of Australia's campaigns - against Scotland in 1985, Argentina in 1993, Iran in 1997 and Uruguay in 2001 - meant the fear of failure was a significant talking point in the lead up to the first leg in Montevideo.

There was also considerable bad feeling against the South Americans, who had proved imperfect hosts two years earlier.

Hiddink, however, proved an inspired appointment as he carried neither burden and, with his easy Dutch manner, he was able to insulate the players from the pressures at home and in the Uruguayan capital.

The South Americans earned a 1-0 lead in the first leg but might have scored more but for some doughty Australian defending and brilliant goalkeeping from Middlesbrough's Mark Schwarzer.

The return leg saw close to 83,000 pack into Sydney's Telstra Stadium where Mark Bresciano's goal took the tie to penalties. Schwarzer was again the hero as he made saves from Dario Rodriguez and Marcelo Zalayeta.

The draw was not particularly kind to Australia, pitting them against Brazil, Croatia and Japan. But Hiddink, as ever, is optimistic.

"I think this group is 'do-able'," he said.

"The three teams behind Brazil are different in style but all have the same chances.

"Brazil are the number one in the group, but my team is not just here to play a game against them and let it go.

"The game against Croatia will be decisive," Hiddink added, regarding their final group game.

"The Croatians will have a lot of support here in Germany, but it will not impress my team.

"For Australia it is a challenge. We are not concerned about anything. You simply cannot be concerned knowing how big the draw was - and everything will be even bigger, bigger, bigger in June.

"We are happy to be here, but happy in a sense that we want to be very competitive."