Socceroo Jackson Irvine had heard about the mayhem Australia’s famous World Cup victory had caused back home – then he saw it for himself.
“Jesus Christ,” the midfielder said as he was shown footage on a phone of the wild scenes in Melbourne’s Federation Square, as fans reacted to Mitch Duke’s goal and the 1-0 win over Tunisia. “It’s hard to even….”
“I was there as well. I wish I could do both (play and watch). That just looks absolutely incredible and I hope every single one of them has got tonight as a moment they all remember for the rest of their lives.
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“I’ve been a part of those kinds of moments before as a fan and the fact that we’ve created that for somebody else is just, it’s too special to even put into words.
Irvine became visibly emotional when discussing the impact of what the Socceroos had achieved by securing just their third match victory at a World Cup – and first clean sheet since 1974. But he’s also mindful that the players in Qatar cannot get swept up in it.
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“I’m actually trying to let it bubble under the surface a little bit,” he said.
“’I’ve got to acknowledge what we did today and what a big deal it was and being a part of a performance like that and how big that is for me and how much it means to everybody else.
“But we’ve got to let it simmer and let it fires us again in four days’ time because we don’t want it to be for nothing. We’ve given ourselves every opportunity now to try and create another special moment.
“You have to embrace it … but also don’t let it take over too much because as much as anyone I want be that team that goes and does something even more special.”
