Australia coach Tony Popovich (pictured) did not hide his satisfaction after the 2-0 victory over Turkey in the team's first match at the World Cup. The success tied the Australians with the leader in Group D - the USA, reports BTA. Popovich praised his players for their performance against the Turkish team, considered the favorite. Goals from the young hope Nestori Irankunda and midfielder Connor Metcalfe brought the valuable three points to the “kangaroos“.
“I am proud to be the head coach of this team. To experience a moment like this and to see the smiles of the people who traveled such a long way to support us is something special. "I'm happy for this group of wonderful young men, for the staff and the work that everyone is doing. We made the right decisions during the game and I tried to help the players in the best way possible," Popovich said, quoted by the BBC.
The opener, Nestori Irankunda, scored in the 27th minute after an assist from Paul Okon-Engstler. Although Turkey had over 70 percent of the ball and had 30 shots on goal against Australia, Vincenzo Montella's team failed to score.
„It was great to see the young guys combine for the first goal. This will give them a lot of confidence and from an emotional point of view it will be very important for them. Now we need to recover well and focus on the next match against the USA“, added the Australian coach.
The next test for Popovic's team is against the hosts from the USA on Friday, and in their final match of the group stage, the Australians will meet Paraguay on June 26. Goal scorer Nestori Irancunda also expressed his joy after the success and revealed who his football idols are.
“Tim Cahill is my biggest inspiration in football, along with Lionel Messi. For me, Cahill is the greatest footballer in the history of Australia. I thought if I score a goal, I will celebrate the goal like him and that's exactly what I did. The fact that we were considered outsiders motivated us even more. We don't like to be underestimated. We proved that we are a strong team and can play at a high level“, said the striker.
On the other hand, Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella was disappointed with the result, despite his team's dominance in large periods of the match.
“We are extremely disappointed. After all, the group stage is just starting and we have time to recover. We had possession 78 percent of the time, but