Nestory Irankunda’s goal against Brazil was audacious, breathtaking and utterly ridiculous. It was also entirely predictable.
“It’s almost funny,” Jackson Irvine said.
“You just laugh because it’s just like, yeah, of course he does. Of course he did. That’s just Nestor.”
Irankunda’s wicked, drifting strike from well outside the box deserved to be the matchwinner on Friday night – and it very nearly was, until Rayan’s header deep in stoppage time salvaged a 1-1 draw for the five-time world champions in a friendly in Townsville.
The late equaliser robbed Australia of what would have been just their second victory over Brazil – but Irankunda’s goal was the second time a Socceroos player has scored against them, which means it should go down in history regardless.
When Paul Okon jnr drew a foul a few metres out from the edge of the penalty area, Irankunda’s eyes lit up. He has scored plenty of direct free kicks at club level, but hitherto none in a Socceroos jersey. Here was his chance, positioned perfectly within his range.
“You know something special can happen when the ball’s at his feet,” said defender Aziz Behich.
Brazil’s legendary coach, Carlo Ancelotti, knew it, too.
“We knew he was a fantastic player,” he said. “He’s a player with a lot of talent. He’s doing really well in Europe. We knew [what he could do in] this kind of situation, on set pieces. He shot fantastic.”
Remember: Irankunda is only 20 years old, which means Socceroos fans can look forward to at least another decade of watching him play; of knowing that so long he is on the field, Australia is a chance of winning any game, because he can produce magic like that out of nowhere.
On a night built around Brazil’s array of superstars – Vinicius jnr, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes et al – Irankunda stole the spotlight, giving the 25,000 fans at Queensland Country Bank Stadium a ‘where were you?’ story they can dine out on for years, and for the many budding young footballers in the crowd, a flash of inspiration they could take home.
Earlier in the week, Irankunda had spoken of his desire to build a career with the Socceroos that would “be remembered”. Moments like this are how that happens, and the significance of it was not lost on him.
“People see that and they keep talking about it for a while,” Irankunda said.
“We’ve got the main sports here in Australia, which is the NRL and the AFL. I feel like football is very underrated here. What we’ve done at the World Cup and what we’re doing now, it’s something new. It’s the new generation, the next generation.
“It feels great to play against the world’s best, and to score against them felt great. It just shows that we can play football as well. I’ve said this multiple times: Australia has the talent. We’ve just got to find a way to show that.”
Coach Tony Popovic said he could see a “clear difference” in Irankunda since the World Cup, where he started three games and came off the bench in another, scoring another cracker in Australia’s famous win over Turkey.
His performances earned him a $25 million transfer to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, where he is still trying to establish himself as a starting player.
That battle continues, but Popovic said he could see a significant change in his maturity since the move, declaring his development was “well ahead” of what he expected from him at this point in his career.
“What he’s learning is that the transfer is one part. Now you go to a new club, they don’t give you minutes, they don’t guarantee you minutes, they give you nothing. You have to earn everything,” Popovic said.
“That’s what we want at the Socceroos. Names don’t just get a starting spot. He delivered today, played very well and he’ll only get better.
“You can just imagine when he’s 24 or 28, if he can stay fit and play and play and play, and just keep getting better physically, and now he’s understanding the game … Sporting is doing a good job with him, tactically helping him understand a lot of situations on the field that are non-negotiable. A lot of that is work rate, a lot of that is getting in position and he’s understanding that. It’s just normal. It’s evolution.”
Popovic copped major criticism for deploying Irankunda at striker during the World Cup, instead of his natural position on the wing, where he played against Brazil.
Out wide, he looks far more free to express himself; in just the seventh minute, he went on one of his typical nitro-boost runs down the left flank, before cutting inside and forcing a terrific reaction save by Hugo Souza from distance. When he gets going, he’s almost impossible to stop, but it’s difficult to get the room to do things like that centrally.
“To be able to hit one in the first half on the run at full speed … that technique is so difficult,” said Irvine. “[But] from a dead ball, he’s just lethal.”
While many fans and pundits remain unsure about Popovic’s tenure, and whether he should be retained beyond January’s Asian Cup, what’s clear is that Irankunda appreciates the tough love he has shown him, and he would run through a brick wall for him in return.
“To be honest, he deserves the credit,” Irankunda said.
“He’s pushed me and he’s trying to help me become a better player … sometimes he’s hard on me, which is fine with me, as long as I know that he has good intentions.”
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