Australia became the latest team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after defeating Peru in a qualifying playoff final on Monday. The game itself was very closely contested, but a relatively cagey affair with neither team being able to overpower the other in normal time.
Playing in unbearable conditions at the Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar, the players were clearly not comfortable during the game. As a result, neither of the teams were really able to give their 100% and couldn’t even score in 90 minutes. The game dragged on to extra time, which was also void of any goals.
It was only during the penalty shoot-out when the game really leapt back to life. With the prospect of playing in the FIFA World Cup at stake, tensions hit pitch fever during the penalty shootout. Every single player on the pitch was under pressure, all except one. That one was Australia’s goalkeeper, Andrew Redmayne.
The 33-year-old Sydney FC goalkeeper was actually substituted into the game just before the penalty shootout because of his reputation as a penalty specialist. His technique, but, was definitely out of the box. The Peru players didn’t know what they were up against in the form of the ‘dancing goalkeeper’.
Redmayne has a bizarre style of unnerving the opposition when it comes to penalties. He used his crazy act of skipping, moving around in his goal-line, and sticking to his left-hand side, confusing Peru’s Alex Valera. He forced the Peru player to shoot to his right and perfectly anticipated to make a stunning save.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper continued his theatrics throughout the shootout, trying to confuse opponents by hopping and wiggling his body around in the line. He even managed to save defender Luis Advincula’s penalty, which proved to be decisive in helping Australia book a place in Qatar 2022.
Not only did he make the crucial saves, but the Aussie goalkeeper even disrupted the preparations of Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The Peru keeper had notes for all Australia’s penalty takers written in his bottle, but Redmayne was spotted hiding the water bottle so that his counterpart couldn’t read them.
Redmayne has caught the attention of football fans around the world with his hilarious movements in goal which are rarely seen. One fan even indicated that he’s been following this ‘wiggles routine’ for a long time and has even been saving crucial penalties at the club level.
Football fans found his entire routine to be hilarious, linking it to some fun dance routines and praising him for sticking to his guts under such severe pressure. Check out the reactions below –
The moment
From packing his bags to national hero
Dark arts of the highest order
Peru didn’t know what hit ’em
Fortunes change overnight
Definitely didn’t happen but we’ll let it slide
Finally, the memes
