Childhood fans of the venerable Fifa Series (making its debut in Sydney) will not remember the Socceroos 1-0 win over Cameroon as a classic of the genre. It will go down as a game decided when Jordan Bos’ quick wits in the 85th minute allowed him to seize upon a Paul Okon-Engstler pass that went through Ajdin Hrustić and fire home, sparing the latter’s blushes for a penalty missed in the 70th minute.
Maybe with the benefit of hindsight it will be seen as the launching point for a successful World Cup campaign, with the win snapping a three-game losing run for Tony Popovic’s side that began against the United States last October, as well as netting their first goal since that defeat in Colorado. Perhaps there will be something about how snazzy the new kits that the Australians debuted looked, or how the fixture marked the starting debut of an 18-year-old Lucas Herrington – the youngest defender to do so since Brett Woods in 1981.
