Doha: As Pele was hospitalised on the other side of the planet, Socceroos sensation Garang Kuol became the youngest player since the Brazilian great to feature in the World Cup’s knockout stage – and, very nearly, the youngest to score since him in 1958.

One day soon, he tipped, Australia will be able to boast about having a national team of that sort of calibre.

It’s been an eye-opening experience for Kuol, the 18-year-old who has taken the Australian game by storm this year and will officially join English Premier League side Newcastle United next month. Still yet to start a senior league match, he was the bolter in Graham Arnold’s Socceroos squad and, for many, was the attacking weapon the coach would look to first if he needed a spark off the bench.

In the end, Australia only needed to chase a game twice, and Kuol was used on both occasions - in their first-up defeat to France, where he rubbed shoulders with Kylian Mbappe, and in their round of 16 defeat to Argentina, where he shared the same pitch as Lionel Messi and came agonisingly close to scoring the equaliser at the death.

Sent into battle in the 72nd minute, Kuol had only five touches but - just as Central Coast Mariners fans have grown accustomed to - he very nearly had the decisive one, turning and shooting deep in injury time with a shot that forced a terrific save from Emi Martinez.

“It was pretty close. It was a pretty tough one to not go in, and a good save,” he said.

“I didn’t really see much of [it] ... I was turning around and just tried to shoot but on the replay, I could see the keeper rushed out. I think it’s just a learning curve.

“I was telling myself that I’d come on and score a goal, and Arnie was telling me to come on and do the same thing. We both have the same expectations. When I wasn’t able to score I was very disappointed, but you sort of move on.”