Aziz Behich is set to become the first Dundee United player to EVER play in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
Behich, 31, turned in a tireless, diligent showing as the Socceroos claimed a stunning 1-0 triumph over Denmark on Wednesday afternoon.
The result saw Graham Arnold’s men upset the odds by qualifying from Group D ahead of the Danes and Tunisia, with ex-United academy kid Harry Souttar once again sensational for the Aussies.
Matthew Leckie notched the only goal of the game, firing low past Kasper Schmeichel in the second period.
Arnold beamed: “These boys came into the World Cup with a great mindset. We’ve been working on this for four-and-a-half years; the energy, belief and focus.
“And I could see in their eyes that they were ready!”
MATTHEW LECKIE HAS PUT THE SOCCEROOS AHEAD AND FED SQUARE HAS ERUPTED pic.twitter.com/7thCDGA6IN
— matt 🇦🇺 (@SGAllStar) November 30, 2022
Behich, now with 55 caps to his name, has played every minute of the tournament for Australia and will be a nailed-on starter in the next round, fitness permitting.
In doing so, he would make a bit of Tangerines history.
While a plethora of Tannadice greats from David Narey to Paul Sturrock, have represented their nation at a World Cup, they never made it beyond the group phase.
Dušan Perniš did reach the last-16 with Slovakia in 2010 but remained an unused substitute throughout that tournament.
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Speaking ahead of Qatar ’22, the ambitious Behich laid his cards on the table: “We believe we’re capable of doing something special.
🇦🇺💛💚 pic.twitter.com/bz5Rt6eExL
— Aziz Behich (@AzizBehich) November 30, 2022
“Everyone talks about the golden generation of the 2006 World Cup. They set the standard for Australian teams.
“That team put us on the map a bit more and now we have to live up to it; build on it.
“We are not going there to be passengers and just say we made it to a World Cup.”
And Behich has been as good as his word.
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