Against France,Aaron Mooy had looked ossified. This day,he was the Socceroos’ glue. The most taciturn of the Socceroos,when he laid a big and important tackle in the dying stages,he belted his chest and bellowed with the crowd.
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Goalkeeper=captain Mat Ryan kept a clean sheet. Big deal? It is for Australia. It’s their first at the World Cup since 1974.
Not that it was not nerve-wracking. Having spent the first half laying a siege,the Socceroos spent the second defending one. It was desperate,it was dangerous,it was ... glorious.
Tunisia in this tournament is a byword for playing with every last cell and sinew. But they’d studied Australia and recognised a kindred animus. They’re bracketed together in the middle powers section of the rankings,teams that cannot hope to get by on talent and flair alone. France can,Denmark too.
Australia and Tunisia each was competing in a sixth World Cup. Australia has advanced once,but Tunisia never. If Australia thought it was desperate,imagine Tunisia’s desperation. Actually,you could see it,and hear it;it was deafening.
Tunisia’s population is only half of Australia’s,but there are 50,000 expats in Doha,and they have become a palpable presence in the tournament. They also appeared to have enlisted the rest of northern Africa and a bit of the eastern Mediterranean as well.
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Australia has spent much time training and playing in this part of the world in the past 12 months,and part of coach Arnold’s pitch to his team (and his country) was that this was a home away from home.
But Tunisia was already inside the gated Arab community. They’re geographically nearby,temperamentally similar and they play here all the time. Most crucially of all,they outnumbered the Australians in the stands by a fearful number. The Aussie Aussie chant disappeared under a thunderous wall of voices.
Australia had two fortifications to break down,one each side of the fence. They did it. They damned well did it.
Denmark won’t be quaking in their boots,but they will be lacing them up tightly. After all,they could not chisel a way through Tunisia’s defence in their first match. Arnold talks constantly of Australia’s DNA. It sounds glib,but perhaps really is a thing. Perhaps it stands for Do Not Acquiesce.