The Socceroos have opened their World Cup campaign in scintillating fashion, with a 2-0 win over Türkiye in Vancouver on Sunday.

Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored in the 27th and 75th minutes, with the decisive win marking the first opening group stage game the team has won since the 2006 tournament.

Despite Australia taking eight shots to Türkiye’s 28 and only maintaining a third of possession, this was no fluke victory.

Rather, onlookers saw a well-drilled team outcoach and outclass the individualistic Turks, who routinely settled for long shots outside the box and appealed constantly to the referee for relief.

Not since the Allied forces withdrawal from Gallipoli have Turks been so bamboozled by Australians.

Turkish captain Hakan Çalhağoğlu, offered a masterclass in post-match revisionism. “We dominated today,” he insisted, before explaining that Australia’s two goals were “long goals” born of Turkish mistakes.

The Socceroos’ tall defenders made physical contests “very difficult.” Every sentence is a new excuse, each more creative than the last.

A new icon was born in the process. At 20 years and 125 days, Irankunda surpassed the Soccero's previous youngest goalscorer at a World Cup by almost six years.

Acting captain Harry Souttar was a standout in defence, with the 198cm defender repeatedly foiling Turkish forays into the box.

Outside of his family, friends and diehard A-League fans, the name Patrick Beach was hardly known until Sunday. The 22-year-old Melbourne City keeper made eight saves—the most by an Australian goalkeeper in a World Cup match—after manager Tony Popovic made the stunning call to start him over veteran captain Matthew Ryan. It proved a masterstroke.

The result was all the more remarkable for a squad whose combined value of roughly $130 million was dwarfed by Türkiye’s $785 million.

With a starting side averaging roughly 24 years old, one can dream this team is built for more than one tournament.

The match was the beginning of that once every four years event: Australians, briefly, caring about soccer. Fans dusted off old scarves and casual watchers found whatever green and gold they could make look good.

At the Great Northern in Fitzroy, packed shoulder to shoulder, one patron summed up the atmosphere: “I think everyone from Melbourne is here.”

The Socceroos themselves are in many ways already a story beyond the sport. Three quarters of the 26-man squad identify as having dual heritage or come from a migrant background. Three members—including Irankunda—were born in African refugee camps before their families settled in Australia.

Their next opponents, the United States, represent a fitting contrast. A host nation whose immigration enforcement has dominated headlines, facing a team that has taken to calling itself a “reflection of modern Australia”.

For now, the Gallipoli campaign can be considered avenged, with the ANZACs only wishing their campaign had been in a pair of hands as safe as Patrick Beach’s.

Image source: ABC News