World Cup: Mat Leckie’s finish adds gloss to Socceroos’ dream

Mat Leckie’s goal personified the Socceroos. It wasn’t spectacular off the boot. Didn’t fly like a Boeing 737 into the net. It was a bludger of a thing to start with but just kept rolling forward like all good underdogs do.

The Socceroos celebrate after the final whistle at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar. Picture: Getty Images

Mat Leckie’s goal personified the Socceroos. It wasn’t spectacular off the boot. Didn’t fly like a Boeing 737 into the net. It was a bludger of a thing to start with but just kept rolling forward like all good underdogs do. A battler of a goal rewarding a team full of scrappers.

Leckie’s speccie. What a fist-pumping, chest-thumping, awe-inspiring moment for Australian sport. Have we ever punched above our weight like this? It was the little goal that could for the team that knew it would. “We want to dream big,” Leckie said.

Mathew Leckie celebrates his matchwinning goal against Denmark on Thursday morning. Picture: Reuters

The Socceroos don’t have to look far to keep dreaming big. Tasks don’t come much taller than this. Argentina’s players have a market value of $970m compared to the Socceroos’ $60m. Superstar Lionel Messi is worth five times more than Australia’s entire squad at $337m. The Socceroos are stepping into the biggest story in world sport – Messi’s attempt to win his first World Cup at his fifth and final attempt. “We’re an ambitious group,” goalkeeper Mat Ryan said. ”We want to keep going. We want to make this chapter as special as can be. We have got that belief and we’re riding a wave. We’re not done yet.”

Australian coach Graham Arnold celebrates the win over Denmark. Picture: AFP

Leckie’s 60th-minute stunner for a 1-0 triumph over Denmark parachuted the Socceroos’ into the last 16 of the World Cup for only the second time. The side’s finest hour.

He did his do-si-do and kicked off his left boot, his least preferred option, but only the narrowest of corridors was open to the left of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The ball stayed low and slow but it knew where it wanted to go. Dreaming big.

It chugged along like the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth. Ran away from Schmeichel like a school kid playing tip before rolling into the net like Steven Bradbury winning gold. Can you believe it?

Australia players and staff huddle around the injured Martin Boyle after the Denmark win. Picture: Getty Images

Luck was involved, but we’ll take it. Leckie pounded his chest as coach Graham Arnold’s hands went in the air as if he was one of the ebullient mob at Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Just three minutes earlier at Education City Stadium, Tunisia scored against a French team that had already qualified for the next round and rested most of its stars en route to a shock 1-0 victory. That result meant a draw wouldn’t be enough. Australia had to beat Denmark to reach the group stage for the first time since the superstar era of Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell in 2006.

“I had no idea,” Leckie said of the Tunisia goal. “We went out with the mentality, we wanted to win. We were all super-stoked, buzzing, screaming, a lot of nonsense, so much emotion. We want to dream big. Arnie, the first thing he said after the game was, let’s go one more.”

Arnold added: “Just so proud of the effort by the boys. Their effort was incredible. A lot of belief, a lot of hard work. These boys come in with a great mindset. We’ve been working on this for four and a half years. We have the belief, the energy and the focus. I could see in their eyes that they were ready.”

Leckie wasn’t the only star, of course. Ryan, the captain had to keep a clean sheet. He did it. Milos Degenek and Harry Souttar were brick walls in defence. “Every ball is like the last ball. You defend for your life,” Degenek said. “It’s like trying to block bullets that are going to hit your family.”