Garang Kuol and Australia’s World Cup adventure is not over, and it will now see them come up against the greatest player of all time.
The Socceroos never looked likely to get out of their group in Qatar, with France and Denmark the favourites to qualify. But Graham Arnold’s side won six points from their three games, and have made it through to the knockout stages.
It is an incredible achievement from Australia, and it came courtesy of a 1-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday. A point would have been good enough initially, but then they had to win with Tunisia beating France. And they had the added threat of facing a very dangerous Denmark side.
But it didn’t matter. They came out on top, with Mathew Leckie scoring the decisive goal. It led to wild scenes back in Australia, as fans celebrated going beyond the group stage for the first time since 2006.
Now they will face Argentina on Saturday, and Newcastle bound Kuol could brush shoulders with Lionel Messi.
The World Cup dream continues for Garang Kuol
The 18-year-old’s 2022 just gets better and better. He still hasn’t started a senior game, but the world knows all about Kuol.
He has turned heads with his performances for Central Coast Mariners, earning a move to Newcastle. He has also been recognised by his country, and how has two caps for Australia.
His second came in the World Cup opener against France, where he shared the stage with Kylian Mbappe.
Kuol hasn’t featured since, but will still be benefitting from this experience in Qatar. Now it is knockout football, and he will hope to feature against another one of the tournament’s favourites.
Most people will expect Argentina to go through, but you never know with his Australia side. Hopefully we see Kuol get some more minutes, and he can continue to show the world that Newcastle have signed one of the stars of the future.
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