Always the bridesmaid, never the bride... For the third straight time, Australia has gotten to the brink of a World Cup Finals berth, only to see their hopes dashed in the final 90 minutes of qualification play. On Sunday, it was 90 painful minutes in Montevideo, as Uruguay went for broke and crushed the Australian side 3-0 in front of nearly 70,000 at the Estadio Centenario, giving them the final World Cup 2002 berth and their first finals berth since Italy 1990.Australia had taken a 1-0 aggregate lead on Tuesday, shutting the Uruguayan's out 1-0 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.But the story in Montevideo was a significant contrast to the first leg, as Uruguayan striker Dario Silva, who had missed the match in Melbourne with a shoulder injury, struck just 14 minutes in to essentially eliminate the Aussie's one-goal lead from Melbourne and turn the final 76 minutes into a winner-moves-on affair. It was Silva's sixth qualifying goal.In 1998, Australia earned the right to face Iran in a playoff for a berth to France, drawing them 1-1 at Tehran in the first leg, then taking a commanding 2-0 lead in front of the home fans in the return. It was then that the packed Melbourne Cricket Ground watched in stunned silence as the Iranian's stormed back for two goals of their own, advancing on the away-goals rule. In 1994, it was much of the same, except this time it was Argentina scoring a lone goal in the return leg of a playoff at Buenos Aries to eliminate the Aussies. Scotland did the same to them in 1986, denying them a trip to Mexico.Australia has qualified for just one World Cup Finals -- Germany 1974 -- where they finished last in Group A, managing but a lone point by holding Chile to a scoreless draw on their final Matchday. Uruguay, meanwhile, have qualified for their tenth trip to the World Cup finals. Their best finish, obviously, came on their home turf in 1930, when they captured the first World Cup trophy with a 4-2 win over Argenti...
