Contrary to the views of many outsiders, the team had full faith in their coach, and he certainly had not lost the dressing room: the level of commitment and buy-in during recent weeks as they prepared for these games against the UAE and Peru is testimony to that.

Captain Mat Ryan - who did not know he was to be substituted in the last moments of the game before the penalty shootout - paid tribute to the work the coach had done with the group before the friendly against Jordan and the Asia play-off against the UAE (which preceded the Peru match), saying that having the team in camp for a fortnight had really made a difference and allowed Arnold to get his ideas across properly.

And the hero of the shoot out, Redmayne, hammered home that point in a post match media briefing.

“It’s hard to put into words how big a moment this is as a collective,” Redmayne said. “It’s a massive achievement.

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“In his speech he [Arnold] addressed the group and said this is the greatest thing he has ever been a part of. I can’t probably repeat what he said, but he said we didn’t get much support from back home, but we knew as a group, as a cohort, the job that was ahead of us, what was on the line.

“This camp has been outstanding. The level has really gone up a couple of notches. That’s down to Arnie, and the belief and respect he gives to the players, all the little one-percenters, the man management he gives everyone.

“The people external to this group don’t see the work and the love and the passion that Arnie puts into every single player that comes into camp and puts on that green and gold shirt for every game we get the chance to play.

“Every player that has been a part of this qualification phase will say the same thing. Everyone is a part of it, and he makes everyone feel so welcome and so at home within this group. That’s all credit to Arnie”.

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Arnold has now pulled off what many thought was impossible, but in many ways the task ahead is just as hard.

He has the next few months to decide on who will be in his squad - whether he will stay loyal to the players who did the job this time, or bring in younger players who can play a role in Qatar and in the future.

Ryan will still stay as his number one, despite Redmayne’s heroics, but if lanky defender Harry Souttar recovers from his knee reconstruction and shows he is back in form, he will come back into the reckoning.

Olyroo regular (and sometime Socceroo) midfielder Connor Metcalfe, who has moved to Germany, is another who will be pushing for a place in the final squad, while a bolter like the exciting but raw striker Alou Kuol could also be a wildcard.

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