Australia beat Peru to seal Qatar berth

DOHA: 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.”

Redmayne denied he was the hero of the night, saying his routine was “a little thing I do” for Sydney that has “proved quite successful”.

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.

Croatia end France’s Nations League hopes

PARIS: Holders France failed to qualify for the final four of the Nations League when they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Croatia as they stayed winless in the competition on Monday. The world champions, who have now lost two and drawn two, are bottom of Group 1 on two points, five adrift of Croatia who prevailed thanks to an early Luka Modric penalty.

Denmark beat Austria 2-0 to stay top on nine points.

Equal pay for Spain’s men and women’s teams

MADRID: Spain’s women will have the same pay for representing their country as men, the Spanish football federation announced on Tuesday.

The agreement will be for the next five years and while salaries are not paid for playing for Spain, the deal ensures male and female players enjoy the same terms regarding bonuses and image rights. Working conditions will also be made equal, including provisions for travel, food and accommodation.

“From now on, the players of the national team will have an advance on bonuses, exactly the same as for the men’s team. We have closed an agreement for the next five years,” said the federation’s president Luis Rubiales.