Vancouver: The Michael Jackson dance can wait. The sequinned glove can stay in the back pocket for next time.
For his first big moment on the global stage, the most important day of his life so far, Nestory Irankunda made all the right decisions – from the touch that brought down the ball, to the placement of his finish, to the celebration that followed, steeped in Socceroos mythology.
After latching onto a marvellous long ball from Paul Okon jnr, slipping between two Turkish defenders and sliding his first World Cup goal into the bottom-left corner, Irankunda ran straight to his nearest corner flag and started shadowboxing – a trademark of Tim Cahill, Australia’s greatest performer on this stage, and, right up until that ball rolled over that line, the Socceroos’ last true household name.
Finally, we have a new one. At least one. Maybe more.
Australian soccer fans have known for years that this young man was about to become your favourite player, that your world was about to be rocked. It was just a matter of waiting for everyone else to start paying attention.
What unfolded in the passages of play that led up to Irankunda’s instantly-iconic 27th-minute goal was, perhaps, a changing of the guard occurring in real time.
Patrick Beach, the shock choice at goalkeeper over captain Maty Ryan, had just saved a volley at the top of the box from Turkey’s great hope, Arda Guler of Real Madrid – one of many personal highlights.
Okon jnr, the shock choice in midfield over vice-captain Jackson Irvine, could not possibly have measured any better the pass he lobbed into Irankunda’s path.
And then Irankunda, who many fans thought coach Tony Popovic didn’t have the stones to start in a game this big, showed total composure to receive the ball in traffic and put it away, and then receive an invisible baton from an invisible Cahill as he laid waste to that poor corner flag.
He does have a taste for the theatrical, Irankunda; Cahill was the architect of his personal favourite Socceroos World Cup moment, the rasping volley against the Netherlands in 2014, and this was the ultimate tribute.
Diehard Socceroos fans are in love with these players, but less so with Popovic. But this result, one of the finest in Australia’s World Cup history, was a total vindication of his tactics, selection and overall management of the Socceroos.
The game could not have played out closer to the way he would have hoped: the Socceroos gave Turkey nothing and punished them on the counter-attack. All of his controversial picks played out of their skins – and, once again, they nailed the hydration breaks.
When Popovic spoke months ago about getting tips off coaches from four-quarter sports, like Dean Cox of the Sydney Swans, about how to handle FIFA’s mandatory breaks in play, more than a few eyes rolled. Yeah, righto, Popa. How’s about fixing the midfield first?
Both of Australia’s goals came immediately following them. Whatever advice he took from whoever, it’s golden now.
When the team sheet dropped, and Ryan and Irvine were on the bench, everyone thought he’d gone mad. But there is always method to Popovic’s alleged madness, even if it’s not immediately understandable. A coach so famously obsessed with detail would not have made such a big decision to hand the gloves to Beach over Ryan unless he saw or felt something to justify it.
In just his third game and first competitive outing at international level, Beach was immense. He was assisted greatly by a defensive set-up that starved Turkey of clear-cut chances, and led to visible frustration amongst their big-name stars – including their captain, Hakan Calhanoglou, whose pre-match declaration that they were “more talented” than the Socceroos has aged like milk.
But each time Beach was called upon, he was equal to the task.
Minutes after Irankunda’s goal, the 22-year-old produced the stop of the tournament thus far, using his fingertips to push Abdulkerim Bardakci’s long-range shot onto the left post and away. He finished with eight saves. Ryan’s got his work cut out to get his spot back.
Okon jnr, meanwhile, was everywhere. Winning balls, making tackles, receiving passes in tight spaces and springing forward into space and creating opportunities. Mistakes off his boot were few and far between.
There were plenty of heroes besides these, with every player contributing in some way towards a performance that will live long in the nation’s sporting memory. But there are many more memories to be created. These Socceroos are just getting started.
