Australia Rallies Behind Our Nationally Accepted Second Team

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The Australian public is rallying around an Aussie coached Iraq ahead of their game against Norway today.

The Middle Eastern nation which doesn't have a whole lot in common with Australia, has attracted a fair few Aussie fans after hiring Graham Arnold as their head coach and legendary Australian goal keeper Zeljko Kalac as their assistant coach last year.

The Australian coach, which led Iraq to their first World Cup in decades, has become something of a national treasure in Iraq after qualifying in the 11th hour with a play-off win against Bolivia.

As a result, many Australians have quietly decided that Iraq is now basically one of ours, joining the long tradition of adopting any international team with a vaguely Australian connection.

"I'm not saying I've learnt anything about Iraq" explained Newcastle electrician Ben Taylor. 

"But if Arnie's there, then I'm there."

The 38 year old admitted he would struggle to name a single Iraqi player, the capital city or even point the country out on a map, but insisted none of that mattered.

Political experts have described the phenomenon as Australia's unique ability to reduce complex international relationships into a simple question of whether someone involved in the team is Australian

"We'll obviously back the Socceroos first" said one fan. 

"But if they're not playing, and Iraq are coached by an Australian, then that's my team."

Iraqi-Australians in particular have found themselves particularly in the eye of the storm, riding the highs of peak Australian-Iraqi relations.

For perhaps the first and only time in history, they have found themselves hearing "go Iraq" by complete strangers in the street.