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AL WAKRAH, Qatar (AP) — Australian soccer could have a brand new golden technology.
Mathew Leckie scored and the Socceroos beat Denmark 1-0 Wednesday to advance to the spherical of 16 on the World Cup for less than the second time.
“I’m simply so proud we’ve been capable of put smiles on individuals’s faces,” coach Graham Arnold stated, noting that is the primary Australian staff to win two straight video games at a World Cup. “Possibly we’re speaking a couple of new golden technology.”
The final Socceroos staff to earn that honor bought Australia into the knockout stage in 2006. This staff did it once more, and Arnold believes the achievement is worthy of a nationwide vacation.
“Give the individuals a time without work,” he stated. “I feel there might be some hangovers and a few pleasure.”
The chief of the brand new technology might be Leckie, who took a go close to the middle circle from Riley McGree within the sixtieth minute and moved round a defender earlier than hitting a left-footed shot previous Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
“I went left and swang the left foot,” Leckie stated, who was then mobbed by his teammates on the sector and off the bench. “I feel I bought slapped within the head about 100 instances.”
Now Leckie needs extra.
“We need to dream huge,” he stated. “I feel the important thing was after we got here to this match we all the time stated we wished to get out of the group. And now we’ve executed that. Now crucial factor is to get ourselves prepared as a result of we labored tremendous laborious tonight. I feel many of the boys are exhausted. That’s precisely what we would have liked to do to get a consequence in the present day.”
Australia completed with six factors in Group D. Defending champion France gained the group on purpose distinction regardless of losing to Tunisia 1-0 within the different group match.
The World Cup proved to be a serious disappointment for Denmark after reaching the semifinals finally 12 months’s 2020 European Championship. They slogged via a 0-0 draw of their opening match with Tunisia after which recovered in a 2-1 loss to France.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand was unable to say why one of many world’s top-ranked groups performed so poorly.
“No rationalization,” he stated. “Questions might be requested. However I feel it’s essential simply to get a little bit of distance to it so I can assume rationally. I can’t do this proper now. The feelings are too huge. The frustrations are too huge.”
Denmark dominated possession via a lot of the sport however couldn’t generate sufficient possibilities towards Australia’s tenacious protection.
Mathias Jensen had one among his staff’s greatest possibilities of the sport within the tenth minute, however Australia goalkeeper Matthew Ryan got here up with a point-blank save.
Australia began the second half properly as Jackson Irvine despatched a superb likelihood over the crossbar. However the Socceroos shortly reverted to defending earlier than breaking via with Leckie’s purpose.
By the tip of the match, all 11 Denmark gamers had been urgent for an equalizer.
On two late corners, Schmeichel sprinted upfield to place himself into the combo in entrance of the purpose. Ryan caught one nook and Schmeichel scurried again. He got here all the best way again on a second nook with a couple of minute remaining, however that try additionally amounted to nothing.
Hjulmand stated the buck stopped with him.
“We didn’t attain our degree. There’s not doubt about that,” Hjulmand stated. “What else is for certain is it’s my duty.”
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AP World Cup protection: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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