Socceroos win regardless of tonight's result

WORDS BY ALEXI BARNSTONE

As we face off with Peru in the final game of the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, many Australians cannot help but feel like their World Cup journey may be coming to a close. To qualify for the knockout stages, Australia must win tonight’s game – and they need Denmark to lose to France. There is still hope, however, regardless of tonight’s results, there have been some serious developments in Australian football from the competition.
 
The Australian team under Bert Van Marwijk has impressed many spectators in the World Cup despite taking only 1 point from two matches. They were defensively solid and composed against the cup favorite’s, France, making one of the best national teams in the world fight hard and grind out a 2-1 victory. In their second match against Denmark, Australia were arguably the better side, and had it not been for a slow start they may well have taken the full three points.
 
Following these performances, some of the top clubs in Europe have turned their attention to Socceroos. Risdon and Naboutt have both been linked up with Russian clubs. Daniel Arzani, teenage sensation and the youngest player at the 2018 World Cup, has reported interest from Juventus, PSV Einthoven, Bayern Leverkusen and Manchester City. Current Huddersfield Town player Aaron Mooy, the box-to-box midfield machine, is reportedly on the cards for a 32-million transfer deal to West Ham or Everton in the English Premier League. Should this transfer go through, it would set the record for the largest transfer fee ever paid for an Australian player.
 
Hence, regardless of the results of tonight’s game, there are undoubtable wins already secured. Even if the Socceroos come home ruing (or rooing) their missed chances, the event has done wonders for Australian football. Their performance thus far has helped the most talented of the team grab the international spotlight and find their way to better clubs. Those will help them improve and in turn will strengthen the Australian national team in the future. So no matter what happens, the World Cup of 2018 has bode well for Australia.