Fajarasia.co – Australia substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne saved the last penalty to seal a place in this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar as they beat Peru 5-4 in the shootout following a 0-0 draw to 120 minutes into the intercontinental playoff early Tuesday. WIB day.
Redmayne danced along the goal line before drifting to the right to stop Alex Valera’s shot and give Australia victory at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Redmayne was brought on three minutes from time to go into the penalty shoot-out and became the sudden hero with a witty run on the line to distract the opponent’s kicker.
He danced by wiggling his hips and outstretched his arms jokingly mimicking former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar when they won the European Cup in 1984.
That effort saw Luis Advincila hit the post and then Valera’s shot was saved as Australia qualified for the World Cup for the fifth successive year and sixth in total.
They will play in Group D of the World Cup alongside defending champions France, Denmark and Tunisia. The finals run from November 21 to December 18.
Australia missed the first penalty but converted the next five to silence the thousands of Peruvian fans who traveled all the way to watch this match and gave their team huge support but had to see their team create only a few chances.
In contrast, hard-working Australia dominated the start of the first half with winger Martin Boyle twice piercing the Peru defense to provide dangerous crosses.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first with limited chances created until the 80th minute when Australia immediately had three good chances to win the match.
Ajdin Hrustic’s free-kick was easily saved by Peru captain Pedro Gallese and five minutes later Aziz Behich broke through two tackles and immediately found himself in front of goal after curling a shot on goal.
Then a move from the left side of the pitch by Australian substitute Awer Mabil allowed him to direct the ball into Hrustic’s path but unfortunately he didn’t hit the shot fast enough to save Gallese.
Nine minutes into extra time, Mathew Ryan was finally tested by Peru’s Edison Flores’ powerful shot which he saved.
Flores then hit the post as the South Americans found their rhythm in stoppage time but could not finish after two hours of play until Redmayne emerged as the hero for Australia.
The singles playoff match between fifth-placed Asia and South America decides the 31st team of this year’s World Cup round.
A day later, Wednesday morning WIB, Costa Rica and New Zealand will compete for the final place in the other intercontinental playoffs at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Reuters reported.****
