"I'm in awe of that strike. I saw him do a couple of those in training. He's a special talent, he has a special shot, and we'll talk about all the great things that he does with the ball, but what is most pleasing for me is how hard he worked. That gets overlooked a fair bit, but what I've seen this year at Watford, the boy is maturing and understands that you have to work for the team and you have to defend."
"I'm happy. I'm glad the boys trusted me with the ball. I got to get on the ball a couple of times. I was told to run at them and do my best, and that's what I did. Obviously, we were unfortunate with the result, but it's such a great feeling."
Australia defeated New Zealand 3-1 in Auckland to retain the Soccer Ashes, with Mohamed Toure scoring in the 35th and 60th minutes and Nestory Irankunda scoring shortly after half-time. Australia generated 0.84 expected goals from 13 attempts while New Zealand produced 1.16 xG from eight shots. Tony Popovic praised Irankunda's strike, his growing work-rate and defensive improvement at Watford, and stressed confidence under pressure. Chris Wood scored for New Zealand, who missed key opportunities. Seventeen-year-old Luke Brooke-Smith made his debut and described the experience as a great feeling despite the loss. Australia remain unbeaten in 11 matches and have qualified for next year’s World Cup.
Read at Soccer News
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