The Age says the Socceroos have now leapt in front of Australia’s world champion cricket team as the country’s top sporting brand. After a fantastic run at the finals that ended in controversial last-minute penalty agony to Champions Italy, experts across Australia are hailing a new era for soccer in the land Down Under, predicting a steady flow of sponsorship dollars between now and the next World Cup. Said one expert: “I think [the Socceroos] have surpassed the Wallabies, who have won a World Cup, and the Australian cricket team…as a brand, soccer has more potential.” Why? Soccer is the only truly global sport, and it is by far the most popular. It follows, therefore, that more interest and more money should follow World Cup success. The Aussies are already in talks with alcohol and beverage companies for sponsorship deals, as well as global brands like Nike, Hyundai, Powerade, and national brands like Qantas and Telstra. Nike, which is up for renewal, has been the official apparel sponsor of the Socceroos, but it also sponsors the Aussie rules football and rugby leagues, both of which are bigger sports than soccer in Australia. Even so, a Nike spokesperson described the Socceroos as “the beacon for the company in this country,” suggesting that a new deal is imminent. If only the U.S. had gotten out of its group; the Aussies proved how a little winning can go a long way to furthering the game in an otherwise apathetic country.