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Posted: 2022-11-30 20:29:19

From now until the end of time, it shall be referred to as "the Leckie Goal".

Two words which are already instantly recognisable for Australian football fans and when uttered will send all the emotions felt in that glorious moment stirring back to the surface.

Nobody will forget where they were when Mathew Leckie scored that remarkable solo goal to beat Denmark and send Australia through to the second round of the 2022 World Cup.

Mathew Leckie goal
Kasper Schmeichel can do nothing to stop Leckie's left-footed strike.(Getty Images: Alex Grimm)

A scrappy tap-in in those circumstances would have been just as significant, and a goal of that quality in a lesser match would have been just as special. But for the two to combine in such perfect harmony is a rare gift to be treasured.

Let's take it all the way back to the source — the man himself.

Had it ended yesterday, Mat Leckie's international career would have been a difficult one to surmise. He has spent the best part of a decade as the Socceroos' most-consistent attacking threat, and yet is arguably known as much for what he has lacked as what he has provided.

A relentless runner, maybe the hardest worker in the Australian team, the sight of Leckie charging full throttle at opposing defences has been a constant in green and gold since at least the 2014 World Cup.

Mathew Leckie
The greatest moment of Mat Leckie's international career.(Getty Images: Shaun Botterill/FIFA)

Too often those runs would end in a frustrated exhale, the promise going unfulfilled and the admirable effort unrewarded.

Leckie has started every single game Australia has played at a World Cup since 2014, without ever having a moment to call his own.

The Leckie Goal has changed everything.

It started in familiar enough fashion, with a head-down run at a gap left in the Danish defence. Riley McGree's poise is not to be ignored in the build up, as he took that all-important split-second to identify the run and stroke his pass with perfect weight.

Leckie suddenly had half the pitch to work with and only two horribly out of position defenders to be concerned with. The easy option would have been to run away from the defence into a tougher angle, or simply to blaze a shot from distance at the first time of asking.

Mat Leckie prepares to shoot as a defender tries to approach
Leckie's changes of direction threw defender Joakim Maehle off balance.(Getty Images: Dan Mullan)

But in a game of such few chances for Australia, Leckie showed incredible awareness and control. He bought himself time by cutting onto his favoured right foot, then completely wrong-footed Joakim Maehle by switching back to his left.

Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had taken up a perfect position in the centre of his six-yard-box, meaning Leckie probably didn't have a chance of scoring at his near post and only had a sliver of an angle to work with across the keeper.

It's all he needed. Leckie's shot was inch-perfect, creeping further away from Schmeichel's outstretched left hand, but still sneaking inside the upright.

Kasper Schmeichel dives towards a ball as Mat Leckie completes his shot
Leckie had a tight angle to work with across the keeper.
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