Turkey centre-back Merih Demiral has won praise from the Australian faithful after coming to the aid of Socceroos striker Mohamed Toure during their World Cup fixture.
Toure went down with bad cramp in his left calf mid-way through Australia’s group-stage clash with former semi-finalists Turkey in Vancouver on Sunday (AEST), laying flat on his back in the middle of the pitch in obvious pain.
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But before teammates or Australian medical staff could get to him, Demiral noticed Toure was on the ground and rushed to his aid, helping him stretch out the cramp.
Demiral stayed with his opponent and called for medical assistance for an extended moment before the Australian physio arrived.
Switched on to what was happening, the Australian crowd applauded the classy act of sportsmanship as Demiral eventually walked off.
Mohamed Toure went down with cramp. Credit: SBS Toure was impressive for the Socceroos, nearly scoring with an overhead kick early in the second half, but it was Nestory Irankunda who stole the show for the Aussies.
Irankunda became Australia’s youngest World Cup scorer with a wonderful goal in the 27th minute among a magical, explosive hour to vindicate coach Tony Popovic’s faith in him, before Connor Metcalfe sealed victory with a glorious solo effort in the 75th.
“It’s epic. It’s unreal. Like, it’s a dream come true,” Irankunda told SBS.
“People underestimate us a lot, and we showed them today that we can play.
“I didn’t think I would score on my debut, but I knew one day, hopefully one day, that I was going to score in a World Cup, and it came so quick.”
The win sets up an enthralling clash with co-hosts the United States, who beat Paraguay 4-1 and lead Group D ahead of Australia, in Seattle on Friday.
But there will be one concern, with striker Toure pulling up sore in his left calf.
Popovic, who became the first Australian to play and coach at a World Cup, was rewarded for his bold calls to start Irankunda and pick Patrick Beach over captain Maty Ryan and Paul Okon-Engstler over Jackson Irvine.
“They were maybe shocks for a lot of people, but not shocks within our playing group or staff,” Popovic said.
Irankunda admitted he was “super nervous” in the lead-up to the match.
“I was struggling to sleep when I first found out that I was going to be starting,’‘ he said.
“It’s a very nerve-racking moment, knowing that you’re going to be starting in a World Cup in the opening game, and I was a bit scared.”
Irankunda was still scared in the warm-up, but Socceroos staff calmed him down.
“That’s what they told me to do: go out there, have some fun, and we had a lot of fun today,” he said.
Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu had incensed the Australians by saying Turkey were a more talented team.
“Obviously that gave us fire in our belly,” Irankunda said.
“It obviously did piss off a few boys, but at the end of the day, these guys can talk all their s***, so we don’t really care.”
Nestory Irankunda paid tribute to his idol, Tim Cahill, after opening the scoring against Turkey. Credit: AAP There were 10 World Cup debutants in Australia’s youngest ever starting line-up at such a tournament, with an average age of 24.6.
Captain on the night Harry Souttar was the only player to have previously experienced the tournament.
But no one will be questioning Popovic’s selections now.
The magnificent Beach made eight saves, including stunning efforts to deny Abdulkerim Bardakci on the half-hour mark, then Real Madrid star Arda Guler in the 57th.
He also denied Kerem Akturkoglu and Calhanoglu in front of 52,497 fans, and later described the performance as a “dream come true”.
“It’s something that we’ve always seen, and I’ve got a lot of belief in the young man,” Popovic said of Beach.
“He stood up today, so very happy for him.”
Irankunda also sang the keeper’s praises.
“He saved us, he kept us in the game,” he said.
At the first drinks break, Popovic had an animated chat with Irankunda, which the 20-year-old said was the coach telling him to “keep my head” and stay calm.
Minutes later Beach made a save, released Cameron Burgess, who found Okon-Engstler, who lofted the ball to Irankunda, who with a brilliant first touch took out Merih Demiral, before finishing beautifully.
“It just fell front of me, and then my body just started doing what it does. I didn’t control anything, it just happened, and after I scored, it was crazy,” Irankunda said.
“It was all instinct.”
Irankunda ran to the corner flag and “boxed” it, in a pre-planned tribute to the famous celebration of Socceroos great Tim Cahill — his idol growing up.
“Timmy Cahill was my biggest inspiration in Australian football, and I look up to him, and I want to be like him one day,” Irankunda said.
Between Beach’s heroics, Metcalfe went on an incredible weaving run before skidding an unstoppable shot inside the near post.
Australia’s brilliantly desperate defence would not be bested from there, despite a late Turkey barrage.
With AAP