ANDY SPOT ON ASOZQUALIFY
ANDREW REDMAYNE’S penalty heroics helped Australia win a nail-biting shootout with Peru to seal their place at this year’s World Cup.
After a rough, goalless 120 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar, neither side could find a foothold.
Peru almost snatched the win in extra time when Edison Flores’ header crashed back off a post.
But with the seconds ticking down, Aussie boss Graham Arnold brought on penalty-stopper specialist Redmayne for Mat Ryan.
It proved a tactical masterstroke with the Sydney goalie – who danced on the line for each kick – denying Alex Valera to send the Socceroos to Qatar.
In the Nations League, Christian Eriksen returned to the Parken a year on from his cardiac arrest at the stadium as Denmark eased to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Austria.
The midfielder came off the bench for the final 14 minutes to a rapturous applause as fans paid tribute to 30-year-old, who colllapsed almost 12 months ago to the day against Finland at Euro 2020.
He’s since made an extraordinary comeback to full-time football, shining last season at Brentford, with clubs around Europe keen to land him on a free with that contract now up.
While Ralf Rangnick’s visitors were promising in spells, the Danes broke the deadlock in 21 minutes when Joakim Maehle cut back for Jonas Wind to net.
Denmark’s lead was then doubled before the interval when Andreas Skov Olsen rattled home.
France’s dismal run in the Nations League continued as their crown was left hanging by a thread after a 1-0 loss to Croatia.
It was sweet revenge for the 2018 World Cup final as Luka Modric tucked away a penalty after Ibrahima Konate had tripped Ante Budimir in the box inside the first three minutes.