Loss steals the joy from Kruse’s dream
IT WAS a moment he had dreamt of for years – but in the end Socceroos winger Robbie Kruse could only feel frustration.
Seven and a half years after his international debut, Kruse finally made his first appearance at a World Cup, only to see Australia concede at the death to lose 2- 1 to France.
By common consent Australia deserved a draw after defying France and even pulling level once they had gone behind to a goal sparked by the intervention of the video assistant referee. Kruse said the result was hard to take.
“The initial reaction is frustration that we deserved a point at least,” Kruse said. “It wasn’t the best attacking performance from us but you’re coming up against one of the best attacking teams in the world, full of superstars, and as a team we performed excellently.
“I don’t think in the second half they had a shot on goal, until the last five minutes when we were pushing for a goal.
“I’m really proud of the performance and really frustrated with the goals that were given. With the first goal ( given for a foul by Josh Risdon reviewed on video by the referee), we asked the referee if he’d made contact with the ball because we could see it on the TV and he agreed.
“So we struggled to understand how it could be a penalty but it is what is.
“I thought once it was 1- 1 we really rattled them and heads went down. They looked tired and we all had the energy – but the second goal came so late that luck sometimes isn’t on your side.
“It’s extremely disappointing but we have to try and pick ourselves up. We can draw a lot of positives from what was an excellent team performance.”
Kruse said the result could not ruin the experience of playing in a World Cup, after he had missed the 2014 tournament.
“It was surreal – the lead up didn’t really hit me until I woke up this morning with a few butterflies,” he said. “I was really excited and when you stand out there for the anthem it was huge.
“The fans were and inspired us.
“It was a dream come true for me but it would have fantastic been even better the result.
“I’m sure we’ll get up for the next two games but at the moment it’s tough to take.”
The Socceroos take on Denmark in their next match on Thursday night ( AEST). if we’d got