It was hard not to think of the 2022 World Cup on Saturday. Of Garang Kuol shooting on the turn, denied only by the Inspector Gadget arms belonging to Emiliano Martinez.
Imagine if that had gone in. Just think: an 18-year-old – the youngest to play in the knockout stages at a finals since Pele in 1958 – scoring against Argentina and taking the eventual champions to extra time. Conceive a narrative in which the Socceroos go on to win that round-of-16 tie and play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. What then?
What if, in the 2-1 Asian Cup quarter-final loss, Mitch Duke buried one of his second-half chances to send Australia up 2-0 against South Korea? What if Lewis Miller did not needlessly make that late tackle on Son Heung-min in the box and did not upend Hwang Hee-chan in such dangerous Son free-kick territory? What if Aiden O’Neill’s studs did not plunge into Hwang’s ankle and he was not sent off midway through extra time?
The parallel universe is a familiar place for followers of the Socceroos. It is an alternate sphere reserved for those nearly moments. Those almost-got-there-but-for-that-thing-that-went-wrong instances. Fabio Grosso’s dive in the box in 2006 lives there. So does the entirety of the 2018 World Cup’s group stage. From the Argentina game, Kuol’s would-be equaliser lives alongside the moment Aziz Behich conceded the free kick from which Lionel Messi scored, and the heavy touch from Mat Ryan that let Julian Alvarez go in again.
The giddy highs of that tournament – Duke’s header and Mat Leckie’s finish and every chant and flare in Federation Square – that all resides in the real world. And there is joy there. There is the joy of winning the 2015 Asian Cup as the host nation. Of Tim Cahill scoring that exquisite volley against the Netherlands in 2014. Of Craig Goodwin scoring against France in 2022 – the Socceroos’ first World Cup goal from open play since. And Goodwin returning to Al Janoub Stadium a year later and scoring once more, this time against South Korea.
Goodwin’s goal on Saturday was real enough to touch. Its status as the match winner, however, existed only between the 42nd and 96th minutes, when Hwang converted that penalty. Then off it went, banished to the realm of opportunity lost. Right now, at least, that feels like the overriding theme. One where possibility opens the wardrobe in the spare room and finds itself in Narnia.
Garang Kuol is denied by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez at the World Cup in 2022.Credit: Getty
Graham Arnold knows this feeling well. Thrice now his national team has been knocked out of the Asian Cup at the quarter-final stage, and each time there was a sense something more could have been done.
This time, Mr Tumnus is confused to see Arnold and asking questions about his game management. The coach has already said he brought off Goodwin and Nathaniel Atkinson because “they were cooked”. He has said emotions were still too raw to publicly process the match, including his substitutions. He did say he has “learnt a lot from this Asian Cup”.
Fantasy football: Yet more ‘what if’ moments on a long and painful list for Socceroos
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03.02.2024
It was hard not to think of the 2022 World Cup on Saturday. Of Garang Kuol shooting on the turn, denied only by the Inspector Gadget arms belonging to Emiliano Martinez.
Imagine if that had gone in. Just think: an 18-year-old – the youngest to play in the knockout stages at a finals since Pele in 1958 – scoring against Argentina and taking the eventual champions to extra time. Conceive a narrative in which the Socceroos go on to win that round-of-16 tie and play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. What then?
What if, in the 2-1 Asian Cup quarter-final loss, Mitch Duke buried one of his second-half chances to send Australia up 2-0 against South Korea? What if Lewis Miller did not needlessly make that late tackle on Son Heung-min in the box and did........
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