The eruption at Federation Square said it all. As far as feedback goes, pyrotechnics at 11pm more than 10,000km away is a decent barometer. “I wish I was there as well,” said Jackson Irvine. The midfielder is a Melbourne boy and a Socceroos fan from way back. As a kid in 2006 he was in Kaiserslautern to witness his country’s first win at a World Cup – that famous 3-1 result against Japan. Four years later he watched the 2-1 defeat of Serbia.
The wait since then has been interminable. It has lasted longer than the decade he has played for the national team. Back in Australia, “the first win in 12 years” was the ubiquitous headline in print and on the airwaves. In Qatar, journalists showed Irvine footage of the wild scenes at Fed Square. At first he couldn’t speak.
