Part One | The Socceroos and the Seleção

The Socceroos will face the ultimate test on September 7 when they take on football powerhouse and 2014 FIFA World Cup hosts Brazil at the Estadio Nacional Mané Garrincha Stadium, Brasilia less than 10 months out or the world's biggest sporting event.

The Socceroos will face the ultimate test on September 7 when they take on football powerhouse and 2014 FIFA World Cup hosts Brazil at the Estadio Nacional Mané Garrincha Stadium, Brasilia less than 10 months out or the world's biggest sporting event.

The sides have clashed on eight occasions and while the Socceroos have only scored one goal in twelve hours of football, the Australians have on the most part held their own against a side that throughout history has been one of the world's most feared teams.

Lets take a look at just how the Socceroos have fared in their first four clashes against the Seleção.

Clash #1 - July 7, 1988 Australia 0 Brazil 1 (Olympic Park, Melbourne)

The Socceroos first ever meeting with Brazil came just over a quarter of a century ago when the sides clashed at Melbourne's iconic Olympic Park. The match was a part of the Bicentennial Gold Cup that marked Australia's bicentenary and also featured both Argentina and Saudi Arabia.

With current A-League coaches Graham Arnold and Frank Farina running out alongside the likes of John Kosmina, Charlie Yankos and Robbie Slater, the Australians were keen to get their tournament off to a good start.

Just after the half hour mark the Brazilians had other plans though as Romario spoilt the party to give his side a 1-0 lead. The Australians started to get on top of their more fancied rivals but could not find an equaliser in front of their parochial home crowd.

Despite the close result, Australian coach Frank Arok wished his side could have got something out of the match.

"I am very disappointed," said Arok.

"We played all over them, we had at least 70 per cent of the game.

"We played well. That team is good but we outplayed them, outsmarted them. The only thing we couldn't seem to do was get the ball in the back of the net."

Clash #2 - July 7, 1988 Australia 0 Brazil 2 (Sydney Football Stadium)

Having never met prior to the Bicentennial Gold Cup, Australia and Brazil clashed again within ten days after they both made the final of the competition.

Australia had claimed a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia and then knocked off South American high fliers Argentina 4-1 while the Brazilians secured a passage to the final with a 0-0 draw against Argentina and a 4-1 win over Saudi Arabia.

Shifting north for the tournament decider, a packed Sydney Football Stadium welcomed their national side which were full of confidence following recent results.

It wasn't to be however as the Brazilians showed why they were the top ranked nation in the world, taking a 2-0 victory. The Australians once again matched it with Brazil with the scores remaining 0-0 at the half but Romario was again the Socceroos nemesis scoring in the 56th minute before Müller ended the hosts hopes in the 67th.

The Socceroos had equipped themselves well having made the final and showed to the world that they could match it with some of the world-s best footballing nations.

Clash #3 - December 14, 1997 Australia 0 Brazil 0 (King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

The Socceroos had to wait another nine years before they would again come face to face with the might of Brazil.

The two sides came together at the 1997 Confederations Cup that was held in Saudi Arabia. This was the first Confederations Cup tournament to be held after it had been previously known as the King Fahd Cup and featured representatives from each football confederation.

Australia qualified as Oceania Cup winners and got their tournament off to a flying start with the likes of Mark Viduka, John Aloisi and Damien Mori all scoring to give the Socceroos a 3-1 win over Mexico.

The Socceroos second clash in the competition came against the Brazilians who were stacked with class. The side they faced featured the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos, alongside most of the team that would go on and lose the 1998 World Cup Final to France.

Australia were not phased however and managed to get a result from the match as the clash ended goalless and gave the Socceroos a shot at making the semi-finals.

Clash #4 - December 21, 1997 Brazil 6 Australia 0 (King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Despite losing to hosts Saudi Arabia in the final match of the group stage, Australia booked a showdown with reigning Copa America winners Uruguay in the semi-final. In a classy performance Kewell scored the lone goal of the match to ensure Australia booked their fourth showdown with the Brazilians.

It was not to be a happy final for Australia though. No doubt having in the back of their minds the lacklustre group stage performance against the Socceroos, Brazil came out firing.

Ronaldo scored in the 15th and 27th minutes before Romario added a third before the half. Romario had another in the 53rd before Ronaldo got his hat trick on the hour mark. Romario matched his compatriots feat we he rounded out the 6-0 rout with a penalty with fifteen minutes remaining in the match.

To have made the final was a tremendous feat for the Australians who were still heartbroken from missing out on the World Cup finals after losing out to Iran earlier in the year.

Stay tuned for the final four clashes between Australia and Brazil.