‘Over the moon’: Socceroos arrive home with smiles – and Messi’s jersey

Six of Australia’s Socceroos squad arrived home in Sydney on Monday night, met by family and fans eager to salute the players on their history-making performance at Qatar’s World Cup.

Mathew Ryan, Jason Cummings, Cameron Devlin, Garang Kuol, Andrew Redmayne and Daniel Vukovic arrived at Sydney Airport on a Qatar Airways flight just after 8pm, while teammates Jamie Maclaren, Marco Tilio and Thomas Deng touched down in Melbourne earlier in the evening.

Their return to Australian soil makes real the end of the 26-man team’s stellar campaign in Doha, that saw tense clashes with Tunisia, Denmark, and Argentina and defied Australians’ – and their competitors’ – expectations.

“I can’t really believe that we’ve done it,” reflected Striker Jason Cummings as he arrived home. “I’m just over the moon.”

Cameron Devlin, one of the six unused substitutes who travelled to Doha last month and later traded his jersey with legend Lionel Messi at the team’s final game against Argentina, said it was lucky the jersey made it home after his luggage got lost.

“I made sure Dad had it on his carry-on, not underneath, just in case something happened,” he told reporters, explaining that he took the opportunity to ask to trade Messi’s jersey at the end of the match.

Family and fans turned up at Sydney Airport on Monday night to welcome back the Socceroos.Credit: Mark Evans/Getty Images

“I went to console all the boys first and then shook Messi’s hand and no one had said anything, so I just tried my luck and he said ‘I’ll see you inside,’ and that’s what happened.”

“I definitely wanted the other boys to have the opportunity first but no one took it, so I thought, ‘why not?’”

Goalkeeper Daniel Vukovic said coach Graham Arnold was responsible for the success of the team that achieved Australia’s best-ever World Cup results.

“Out of all of this, the person I’m most happy for is Arnie,” he said. “He’s had tough press over the last few years and a lot of people calling for his name. And he stuck to his guns. He galvanised the side. We all know we don’t have world star players, but what we do have is an unbelievable team, and that is created by him.”

Wearing the team’s pre-match jersey and the iconic green and yellow scarf, fan Sara Mostafavi was among a dedicated contingent of supporters eager to congratulate the players on their impressive results.

“I’m really proud of how they performed, and I think some of them are really disappointed about the result, particularly Maty Ryan,” she said. “But I think they did really well.”

If the players get any rest, it’ll be short-lived: the A-League season recommences for its seventh round following a short hiatus for the World Cup, with local club players set to rejoin their teams ahead of upcoming matches this weekend.

Jason Cummings and Daniel Vukovic have been listed in the Central Coast Mariners’ starting squad for their Saturday face off against the Newcastle Jets, while goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne will return to Sydney FC for their game against Melbourne City.

The players’ airport interviews were interrupted twice: first by a fan wishing blessings on the team, and then when Devlin’s ear was cheekily flicked by leaving teammates. The Socceroos were finally home.

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