Picture Credit: Twitter
Australia men’s football team registered a historic win to seal their qualification for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They defeated Peru 5-4 in the penalties after a 0-0 draw after extra time in an inter-continental playoff on Monday. But the top highlight of this match was Australia’s substitute keeper Andrew Redmayne who had an interesting tactic, especially for the final penalty.
As Peruvian forward Alex Valera went for the final spot-kick, Redmayne danced across the goal line before diving to the right to stop the penalty. The Sydney FC keeper then celebrated the win with excitement and the entire team came together for celebrating their qualification.
Maybe that was the reason they hit the post: Arnold
After the match, Australian coach Graham Arnold talked about the decision to bring on Redmayne for the shootout, he said, “He's a very good penalty saver and I did something that could affect them mentally. They were probably asking themselves the question, 'Why is this guy being brought on, he has to be good'. Maybe that was the reason they hit the post. It's a 1% mental effort to trouble the Peru penalty takers. It was a risk but it worked out.”
Arnold then thanked his players and the other support staff for their incredible campaign. He said, "I am just so proud of the players. Really no one knows what these boys have been through to get here, it was so hard, the whole campaign. The way they stuck at it, the way they committed themselves, brilliant."