WORLD CUP – Australia dominates Peru on penalties and joins the Blues group at the World Cup

The Blues will therefore have the same opening match as in 2018. For what was a first real taste of the World Cup in Qatar, the first of the intercontinental play-offs disputed in Doha left everyone on the end. But after a meeting that will be easily forgotten, Australia qualified for the World Cup thanks to its success on penalties on Monday against Peru (5-4, 0-0 after extra time).

There lies the only interest of the evening, but it is important for the France team. While Didier Deschamps’ players battled at the Stade de France against Croatia in the League of Nations, the Socceroos completed the group of reigning world champions.

We don’t know if the two teams took the adage that the stakes sometimes take precedence over the game a little too literally. But they were an almost perfect illustration of this. First shot on target in the 81st minute, the second at the start of extra time… The show was mainly in the stands, where the Peruvian fans did their best to make the evening less painful.

Redmayne, unlikely hero

We had to go through the penalty shootout and the Andrew Redmayne show to finally find some excitement on this dreary evening. Launched at the last minute of extra time by coach Graham Arnold, like Louis van Gaal and Tim Krul or Thomas Tuchel with Kepa, the Australian substitute goalkeeper will remain as the hero of the evening. For his third selection, the Sydney FC goalkeeper (33) made the show first of all with his totally disarticulated gestures in an attempt to destabilize the opposing shooters. Then Redmayne dove brilliantly to his right to dismiss the attempt of Alex Valera, who also came on in the final moments of extra time.

With the exception of their savior who came out of nowhere, it is difficult to draw any real lessons from this match of infinite mediocrity for the band of Didier Deschamps. As in qualifying, Australia struggled to be dangerous on the Peruvian goal despite a very slight domination. The Socceroos, as in 2018 with the Habs, will have had the merit of holding on without ever really collapsing. Peru was only dangerous for three minutes, when the second period of extra time resumed with Edinson Flores’ header on the post (107th).

For the rest, the Australians still have a lot of work to hope to overcome the group stage, as it had achieved in 2006 before falling in the round of 16. Australian players may have shown the way to their New Zealand neighbors, who play the last ticket for the World Cup against Costa Rica on Tuesday (8:00 p.m.). The winner will join Spain, Germany and Japan in Group E. For the second time after 2010, the two oceanic islands would participate in the same edition of the World Cup.