'Dancing goalie' Redmayne carries Socceroos to Qatar World Cup

Football

Published: 14 Jun. 2022, 16:12

'Dancing goalie' Redmayne carries Socceroos to Qatar World Cup

Australian goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne dances on the goal line to distract a penalty taker during the penalty shootout at the end of the AFC-CONMEBOL playoff for a spot in the 2022 Qatar World Cup in Qatar on Monday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The unexpected antics of Australian substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne earned the Socceroos a ticket to the 2022 Qatar World Cup after a penalty shootout with Peru at Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar on Monday.

Australia and Peru faced off on Monday night in the Asian Football Confederation vs. South American Football Confederation playoff to determine the penultimate spot at the 2022 World Cup.

Neither team was able to score in the full 120 minutes of play, pushing the game to penalties.

Ahead of the penalties, Australia head coach Graham Arnold made a surprise substitution, taking off Real Sociedad and former Brighton and Arsenal goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and bringing on Sydney FC's Redmayne.

Redmayne, who had only played for the Australia senior squad twice before Monday's game including a 1-0 loss to Korea in his debut, was an unexpected pick for the penalty shootout. But while the sudden move to the less-experienced player shocked fans and pundits alike, Arnold clearly knew what he was doing.

From the start it was clear that Redmayne was taking an unusual approach to the penalty shootout. Dancing and gyrating on goal line, Redmayne was clearly as focused on distracting the Peruvian shooters as he was trying to stop the ball going in the net.

The approach worked, just.

Australia's Martin Boyle missed the first penalty while Peru's Gianluca Lapadula scored. Aaron Mooy for Australia and Alexander Callens both scored the next penalty, putting Peru ahead 2-1.

While Craig Goodwin scored the next penalty for Australia, Peru's Luis Advincula's efforts to avoid the prancing goalkeeper sent the ball into the post and out of play to tie the score at 2-2.

The next two penalties both went in, with Awer Mabil adding number four for Australia. Alex Valera stepped up to the spot next for Peru in a do-or-die situation, with Redmayne dancing in the right direction to stop the shot and send the Socceroos to Qatar 2022.

Speaking after the match, Redmayne said that while his sudden appearance in the 120th minute might have surprised the fans, it didn't surprise him. His superb record on penalties with Sydney in the Australian league is exactly why he was added to the Australia roster for the playoff.

With the win, Australia join Group D at the World Cup. As of press time Tuesday, the final spot in Group E was set to be decided in a playoff between Costa Rica and New Zealand on Tuesday evening.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]