Socceroos’ World Cup progress labelled as “one of the great achievements in Australian sport”
After defeating Denmark 1-0 this morning and cementing a spot in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup, the Socceroos are set for a date with Argentina on Sunday morning.
Australian football broadcaster Daniel Garb exclaimed the remarkable upset was “an incredible moment in Australian sport” and “one of the great achievements in Australian sport”.
Mathew Leckie put Australia in front in the 60th minute with a left-footed strike which Garb could only describe as “miraculous”.
“Not only was it a critical goal, it was a brilliant one, a goal that can be discussed in the same breath as Tim Cahill’s wonder strike against the Dutch (in 2014),” Garb told SEN Breakfast live from Doha.
Garb praised the Socceroos’ courageous World Cup performances, after only just scraping into the World Cup by virtue of a penalty shootout in a cut-throat qualifier against Peru in June.
After a 4-1 loss to France in the first game, pressure mounted even further on Graham Arnold and his side to perform on the world stage.
“This team that has been ridiculed and mocked and dismissed for years,” Garb said.
“Not just the players, the manager as well, have taken Australia through to the Round of 16 with back-to-back wins never mind, and back-to-back clean sheets.
“Prior to the Tunisia game, we hadn’t managed a clean sheet at the World Cup since 1974, now we have done it twice in a row.
“It is just incredible to think that Australia is through to the Round of 16 against the odds.”
Garb also praised the individual performance of defender Harry Souttar.
The 24-year-old Scottish-born centre-back, who is currently with Championship club Stoke City, has been one of the best players for his nation and across the tournament as a whole.
“Harry Souttar is just a marvel,” Garb exclaimed.
“If he’s not in the team of the tournament at the moment, tear the thing up, he should honestly be spoken about in golden ball calculations right now he has been that good.
“If he doesn’t land up at a Premier League club in January, I’d be shocked.”
Souttar was prolific in the win against Denmark, despite this only being his fourth game since returning from an ACL injury that kept him sidelined for a year.
Former Australian cricketer Simon O’Donnell asked Garb: “Are careers going to be changed here?”
“Yeah, I think they will, first and foremost, they (Socceroos side) will go down in Australian sporting folklore,” he added.
“Some of these players are A-League players, Mat Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, they have been brilliant.
“That should change the perception of A-League in a lot of people’s minds as well because they have shown that they are not hacks running around in Australia, they’re darn good footballers too and you can elevate to that next level by playing in our domestic league.”
Australia is set to face Argentina on Sunday at 6am AEDT, their first World Cup Round of 16 appearance since 2006.
