Australia snatches a spectacular 1-0 victory against Denmark and with that, they have secured their position to progress into the knockout round of 16 stage in the World Cup after 16 years, their last round of 16 progression being back in 2006.
It isn’t the first time we’ve seen in this year’s World Cup that the team dominating the entire match in all statistical fronts have gone down and lost the match, because in the end it’s the score line and the goal tally that decides the winners, not ball possession.
Denmark had dominated the whole first half of the match and most of the second half, with many opportunities opening for them to score since the very first few minutes of the match. But the Australian defense, even after having many loopholes, stood their ground against Denmark and the goalkeeper, with many incredible saves managed a clean sheet.
The Australians started slowly but then managed to grow into the match steadily in the second half. They kept the ball to themselves for a far lesser amount of time, but managed to put their maximum utilization into it.
They opportunity presented itself to the Australians finally in the 60th minute of the match where Mathew Leckie pierced the Denmark defense and scored a heroic goal almost all by himself, nutmegging the ball through one of the defenders and then leaving the goalkeeper bewildered.
His heroic act has written history for the Australians, who weren’t considered much of a threat when the World cup teams were announced. The Australian goalscorer gave his two scents earlier, saying,
“I’m proud, I’m exhausted, I am everything. It’s hard to describe the emotions right now. We always knew we could do it, we believed as a group, we had our doubters but with our spirit, belief and work-ethic, and how close we are as a group, that showed on the pitch. “We’re so proud and we’ll make the most of it tonight but then it’s all about recovery because obviously we have another game coming up.”
