Socceroos hero Aziz Behich and coach Tony Popovic ecstatic after later winner against Japan

West Australian

2 days ago

By Aziz Behich's own admission, the Socceroos' newest hero did not actually see his 90th minute strike hit the net.
Instead, he saw a sea of bodies rise as one in the crowd, heard a roar summoned from their depths, and he knew he had struck gold.
With his late strike on his unfavoured right foot, Behich entrenched himself in Socceroos and national sporting folklore, steering home Riley McGree's cutback on his unfavoured right foot to give Australia a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth.
The Socceroos had scarcely deserved a point, let alone all three from their clash in front of a crowd of 57,226 at Optus Stadium.
But it did not matter, as their three points over Japan pushed them to the precipice of a sixth successive World Cup qualification.
Only a disastrous defeat in the realm of five goals to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday would thwart direct qualification to the 2026 marquee tournament in North America.
Behich said he saw the chance to push forward as the Socceroos chased a late but unlikely winner and as it turned out, fortune favoured the brave.
'It was just about getting myself in a position into the box. One thing the boss said at half-time was, we've still got to work hard, be tough to break down, but we will get our opportunity if we stick to our structure and get numbers into the box,' he said.
'We'll get one opportunity, and we'll take it.
'I just tried to get myself into that back post area and as soon as it sat and it's come off my foot, I felt it hit pretty nicely.
'I actually didn't see the ball as it hit the net; I just saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere, and that's when I looked at the goal. It was a beautiful moment.'
Last Saturday, Behich's Melbourne City side were crowned A-League Men's champions; all in all, it has not been a bad few days for the 34-year-old, and he said the goal sat 'right at the top' of his career.
'With what's on the line for us, with we've had to go through this campaign, and obviously, playing against the nation that we haven't beat in I don't know how many years,' he said.
'We're always the underdog and always expected to lose, but we always have belief within those four walls. This is right up there in my green and gold career.'
His winner against Japan was just his third Socceroos goal in more than 80 games, and first for the national team in more than a decade.
When Behich's goal hit the back of the net, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic sunk down and exalted a scream of pure passion and delight, before he was mobbed by his coaching staff.
'As soon as he hit it, I just had a great vantage point there. I could see the ball was going as soon as it left his foot, just a wonderful goal,' Popovic said.
Almost six years to the day Popovic watched his Perth Glory side fall in an A-League grand final at Optus Stadium on penalties, he oversaw the national team take a massive stride towards sealing their place at a World Cup.
'A special night. The outpouring of emotions when we scored, and obviously after the game — it's a moment I'll always remember,' Popovic said.
'Emotions were obviously very high, I think for many reasons. We know what we're aiming to do is to get direct qualification.
'You're playing the best team in Asia at the moment, and you win it so late — you can't script it better than that, although, it's obviously a nervous 90 minutes before it gets to that point.
'I'm very happy for everyone involved with the Socceroos: the FA the board, chairman, CEO, all the way down.
'It's been a really intense period since I've come in, but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do. We're very close now to achieving our goal.'