If there was ever a game for Garang Kuol, this was it – and it very nearly was his. With injury-time ticking down, a (very) young substitute was in the box, twisting into space and approaching goal. When he shot on the turn there was every chance the Socceroos might have pushed Argentina to 120 minutes. Had Emiliano Martinez possessed slightly shorter arms, anything was possible.
It took a dive and a stretch to deny Kuol, but his 25 or so minutes on the pitch at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium was a landmark moment, not just for the teenager himself but also for the World Cup. At 18 years and 79 days, Kuol became the youngest player to play in the knockout stages at a finals since Pelé in 1958.
