The Peru manager described the feeling as joyful having seen his side coast to a victory. The coach explained the challenges of keeping the players positive having failed to win their first two games. He went on to compliment the Australians who he said caused physical problems for his team.
But it was the support of the fans that helped his players put in such an effort that gave him reasons to smile. Peru’s quick start meant that they were on their way to their first victory since a 4-1 win over Iran in 1978 – 14,625 days ago.
Despite the fact that they had no chance of progressing they took the game to their opponents and overwhelmed them. Like the Danes in their opening game, it took the Aussies a while to get a grip on the game and things may have been different had they opened the scoring.