The Australian team achieved the goal and qualified for the Qatar World Cup on Monday this year, after beating Peru in the playoffs, and on penalties.
End of the Peruvian illusion
The greater effectiveness from the twelve steps, and the skill of the Redmayne goalkeeper, allowed the Socceroos to seal their passport to their sixth World Cup, the fifth in a row, in which they will integrate Group D with France, Denmark and Tunisia.
In the crucial round of penalties, Redmayne saved Peruvian Alex Valera’s shot to make the few hundred of his compatriots who came to Doha explode with joy and silence the thousands of Peruvians who accompanied the Blanquirroja.
But it was Peru’s Gallese who thrilled his compatriots when he saved Boyle’s first penalty, after which Lapadula scored and Mooy equalized for Australia. Callens took the next for Peru, but was effectively followed by Goodwin, while Advíncula hit the Australian right post, leveling the score.
Hrustic, Tapia, Maclaren, Flores and Mavil followed them with great skill, until Redmayne stretched himself to the maximum to seal the fate of the match by stopping Valera’s shot. As in the Russia 2018 group series, when they lost 0-2 to the Peruvians, Australia looked like a disciplined rival with great physical display, which stopped the Incas’ classic touch game, that surprised in a large part of the actions due to their little precision and offensive depth.
From the beginning, the Socceroos exerted high pressure at the start, with attempts to hit the Peruvian bottom line, for which they even took the first action of relative risk, with a powerful shot from Duke that went wide.
Lapadula replied with a header also deflected after a cross from the right by Carrillo, who during that first half only showed sparks of his offensive ability. From then on, a first half developed in which the Australian strategy of dominating the field of play prevailed, but the actions lacked any real risk in the goals.
Already in the second half, Peru tried to take control of the midfield and showed some good moments from their creative Cueva and Carrillo, although Australia stood up again to stop any risk on the goal defended by Ryan. After a very short game, Australia had the clearest of the final part of the second half: at 84, with a cross from Behich that went just wide, and at 88, when Gallese managed to stop a shot from MacLaren that slipped into his goal.
In extra time, and with their nerves on edge, the two teams came out to leave the physical rest, with Peru resuming their game of elaboration and improving options that could not be specified by Flores, who crashed a shot into a post, as well as of Cueva and Advíncula. Without being able to breach the rival goal, both teams faced the roulette of penalties, which on this occasion favored the Soocceros and collapsed the dreams of the Blanquirroja.
Synthesis
0. Peru: Pedro Gallese, Luis Advíncula, Carlos Zambrano, Alexander Callens, Miguel Trauco, Renato Tapia, Christopher González, Sergio Peña (d.79, Pedro Aquino), André Carrillo (d.64, Edison Flores), Christian Cueva (d.113, Alex Varela) and Gianluca Lapadula. Coach: Ricardo Gareca.
0. Australia: Mathew Ryan (m.119, Andrew Redmayne); Nathaniel Atkinson, Kyle Rowles, Bailey Wright, Aziz Behich (m.119, Craig Goodwin), Aaron Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Ajdin Hrustic, Martin Boyle, Mitch Duke (m.68, Awer Mabil), Mathew Leckie (m.86, Jaime MacLaren). Seleccionador: Graham Arnold.
Goals: penalties (5-4): Lapadula, Mooy, Callens, Goodwin, Tapia Hrustic, Flores, Maclaren and Mavil. Boyle, Advíncula and Valera failed.
Referee: Slovenian Slavko Vincic. He showed a yellow card to Atkinson and Flores.
EFE
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