World Cup: Andrew Redmayne's full heroics v Peru explained in Twitter thread | OneFootball

On Monday evening, Australia booked their place at the 2022 World Cup.

The Socceroos beat Peru in their inter-confederation play-off and their hero was Andrew Redmayne.

With the two teams drawing 0-0 going into the final minute of extra-time, Australia manager Graham Arnold decided to make a very bold call.

He took off team captain Mathew Ryan – the former Brighton goalkeeper – and brought on Redmayne for the shootout.

At the time, Aussies couldn’t believe what they were seeing, but it proved to be an inspired decision by Arnold.

In sudden-death, Redmayne produced the biggest save of his career to deny Alex Valera and secure Australia’s spot in Qatar later this year.

The Sydney FC goalkeeper’s heroics in the shootout were certainly not just restricted to the save, though.

As Geir Jordet, a football psychology researcher, has highlighted in a detailed Twitter thread, Redmayne performed a “mind game masterclass” to give Australia the edge over Peru.

From his elaborate dance moves on the goal line to acting as a bodyguard for his teammates before they took their spot kick, Redmayne really stepped up when his country needed him most.

Well played, Andrew.

Of course, his tactics were never going to guarantee Australia victory, because as we as football fans all know, penalties are a lottery.

But there’s no denying that Redmayne gave his team a slight advantage in various departments, which ultimately helped them qualify for yet another World Cup.

Australia are certainly going to find the going tough out in Qatar, though, as they’ve been drawn in a very difficult group.

Current holders France are the headline act, while Denmark – who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 last summer – are a force to be reckoned with these days.

And the other team in the group is Tunisia, who’re certainly no pushovers.

If Australia make it into the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup, it will be a quite incredible achievement.

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