The Socceroos win took me back to my penalty kick in 2005

It was far more nerve-racking watching a penalty shootout as a fan than participating in one as a player.

Just like the rest of Australia, I was lying on the couch, under the blanket, watching the Socceroos vs Peru and riding every moment with the team.

The Socceroos celebrate their penalty shootout win over Peru.Credit: Getty

My wife, Angela, woke up right in time to join me for the shootout, so I got to experience it with her. She spotted the fan with my jersey behind the goal – I hadn’t yet noticed, so it was quite funny.

Other than for a team that I’ve played in or coached, I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated like I did on Tuesday morning – I haven’t been able to wipe the smile off my face.

It was on par to the amount of emotion and fist-pumping that I’d done at AAMI Park a few weeks back when Western United won the A-League championship. That’s how much it means to me. I love this game so much and the World Cup means everything in terms of growing football in Australia.

After scoring the winning penalty against Uruguay to get Australia into the Cup in 2005, I still get asked to run around with my top off, and now goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne will be asked to do the Wiggles dance every time people see him. He’s written in sporting folklore.

Leading up to it, we knew the enormity of the game against Uruguay. We hadn’t qualified for 32 years, but we had the belief that we were going to get there and that we were good enough. We just knew it was our time.

The night before, I practised penalties at the stadium, five down that end of the stadium and I put each of them in that same right corner. I remember staying down there, practising against Ante Covic and Lucas Neill asked me why I kept putting them in the same corner. If we get to a shootout, I said, I only get one chance. And for the record, Ante didn’t get close to one of them.

I remember as a kid, taking a penalty. I remember the walk, my legs were trembling. I missed that penalty and we ended up losing – I was 14 at the time in an Under 17 cup game. After the game, I felt gutted that I’d let my team down. I said to myself, I’m going to be prepared when the opportunity comes up again.

Fifteen years later, the walk was completely different. I felt like I was gliding to the penalty spot. I knew what I had to do, and I had no doubt in my mind how I was going to strike the ball as well. The noise in the stadium sounded so distant, almost like it was somewhere else. I went through my process: head over the ball, strike and hit the spot. I knew it was the time to make the shot.

John Aloisi celebrates scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout between Australia and Uruguay in 2005.Credit: Getty Images

The players on Tuesday had a similar confidence. I could sense it, you could just see the way that they were – not only in the shootout but during the game – they had belief that this was their moment, you could see in the huddle they had a sense of easiness about them.

There was vision of Redmayne talking to Socceroos coach Graham Arnold during the break and he had a big smile on his face. Just like us in 2005, I sensed they had the belief, “yep this is our time, we’re going to the World Cup”.

Redmayne probably won’t remember the precise moment. I don’t think I do, but the memory will be formed from the vision that he will see on repeat his whole life – his celebration, his priceless facial expression afterwards.

As I reflected on the match, I thought about my current role as a head coach in the A-League. A lot of these players got their first professional opportunity in the A-League, the ones overseas – Aziz Behich, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Ryan, among others.

Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne celebrates after making the crucial save in the penalty shootout against Peru.Credit: Network 10

And how about Kye Rowles, he’s only 23 years old, relatively new to the A-League and making just his third cap. It shows the quality that we have in the A-League competition here and how far our domestic league is going. The future is bright.

The World Cup is the best sporting event in the world. I was lucky enough to experience it and I’m excited for the players that will be there in November as the Socceroos return to Qatar.

The nation will unite.

The players will feel that all Australians are there to support them and get behind them. Like us in 2006 where we went into a tough group (Brazil, Croatia and Japan), they go into a tough group with nothing to lose.

We’ll be the underdogs, but that’s how we like it, and we’ll show our Australian spirit on the world stage. I’m so proud of Arnie, of all the players and staff – bring on the 2022 FIFA World Cup.