AUSSIES QUALIFY
Socceroos secure ticket to World Cup
Doha (Qatar), June 14: Australia on Tuesday celebrated the antics of dancing goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne whose penalty shootout save against Peru saw them to a fifth straight World Cup finals.
The 33-year-old clowned his way along the goal line as Peru’s players prepared to take their penalty kicks and his block of Alex Valera’s shot gave Australia a 5-4 win after the two sides had been deadlocked without a goal for 120 minutes.
Australia coach Graham Arnold brought Redmayne on for team captain Mathew Ryan for the final minutes of extra time as a ploy for the shootout.
Martin Boyle missed Australia’s first penalty but the next five were all on target.
Redmayne danced and jigged along the line to unnerve the Peru players and Luis Advincula’s shot cannoned off a post. Redmayne’s save of Valera’s shot set off wild celebrations among the Socceroos and their band of a few hundred supporters.
Arnold said that Ryan is a “fantastic goalkeeper” but Sydney FC’s Redmayne “is a good penalty saver and at that stage of the game I was just trying to do something that could affect them (Peru) mentally.”
Victory gave Australia the penultimate place available for the tournament that starts on
November 21. They will play defending champions France in Group ‘D’ one day later to start their sixth appearance at the World Cup in all.
Peru, 22nd in FIFA’s list and who beat Australia 2-0 at the 2018 World Cup group stage, were roared on by 10,000 fans, most of whom had flown halfway round the globe for the playoff only to see a frustrating encounter between the rivals with few clearcut chances.
Arnold insisted that his whole team were heroes for getting through.
“What we have been through in the last year
AFP and a half with the pandemic, not being able to get back into Australia, players getting Covid, not being able to get the best squad together a lot of the time.
“I am so proud and happy for the players,” said Arnold.
“The sacrifices they have made. No-one thought they could do it but they kept on believing.”
Peru’s Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca said the whole side felt “enormous disappointment” at the way in which they were beaten but would not criticise Redmayne.
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