A national audience of 1.7 million people tuned in for the historic 1-0 victory over Tunisia while pubs,clubs and live sites around the country - most notably at a heaving Federation Square in Melbourne,where thousands of revellers ripped flares and partied long into the night - were packed for one of the team’s most anticipated games in years,thanks largely to the quadrennial influx of fans who only tune in to watch them whenever the World Cup’s on.
But it’s easy at 9pm on a Saturday. This one will take a bit more commitment,but take it from Duke:it’ll be worth the sacrifice.
“I hope they can stay up a bit later and support us,and watch us,because I’ve got a great feeling that we can get the job done and make Australia proud,and get out of this group phase,” he said.
“My message to them is stay up,watch us,support us - otherwise,if you fall asleep,you’ll be waking up to some good news.”
Whatever happens,Duke is hopeful Graham Arnold’s unheralded group has already made a good case for the bandwagon brigade to stay invested long after Qatar is done and dusted.
The days of Kewell,Cahill and Viduka are long gone,but a new crop of hard-working battlers are quickly making names for themselves in Australian sport,with western Sydney product Duke,31,a case in point.