The fallout from the Socceroos exiting the 2018 World Cup at the group stage with only a point, has many former players, fans and pundits questioning the state of Australian football.

Looking ahead to the 2022 World Cup, there are question marks regarding the next generation of talent coming through, especially as Australia’s national youth teams have failed to qualify for a number World Cups and Olympics.

Former star winger, Stan Lazaridis told Neos Kosmos that Australian football needs to focus on the growth of the game, as other nations around the world are investing heavily.

“When we were playing against Asian countries and, no disrespect to them, we were winning very easily,” he said.

“We have some really good exciting talent, but you’ve got to remember that every other country has developed further. These other countries have really made significant improvements. They have poured so much money into development.

“A lot of countries in Asia and the Middle East that we are up against, it’s become tougher and harder. So that has given everybody a rude awakening; all of a sudden we can’t just walk into a World Cup.”

During his club career, Lazaridis featured for West Ham and Birmingham City in the English Premier League and made 72 appearances for the Socceroos.

The Greek Australian believes the National Soccer League (NSL) was a key component in his development.

“When I was playing for West Adelaide I had a couple of really good seasons in the NSL,” said Lazaridis.

“I nearly went to Greece, but right at the last-minute, Harry Redknapp ended up bringing me to West Ham.

“It was a special era. We had really, really good players, and a number of them were from an ethnic origin whose mums and dads had migrated to Australia and there was just a drive and hunger to do well,” he said, referring to players the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Paul Okon, Ned Zelic, John Aloisi, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell who played in the Serie A, La Liga, the Bundeslga and the Premier League, and played consistently for over a decade.

“Us Australian players never really reflected until 15 or 20 years later – when you look back, you think bloody hell, we were decent, we were really good.”

Lazardis is currently assisting Football Federation Australia (FFA) and believes that Australia can still replicate the talent pool of his era.

“My role is more around the development committee and it’s basically just to try and help the game,” he said.

“We have got some good players that are coming through, but probably not in the amount we had back then. Australia is certainly investing more time and energy and the FFA is doing a good job, and in time, I think that will turn around again.”