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With a 1-0 win over a disappointing Denmark on Wednesday, Australia advanced to the World Cup’s last 16 for the second time in their history.
Winger Mathew Leckie scored the game-winning goal on the hour, ending Denmark’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar.
Australia, who reached the knockout stages in 2006 with Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, and Mark Viduka, has now won back-to-back World Cup games for the first time.
They advanced to the knockout stages after finishing second in Group D behind holders France, and will face the winner of Group C. Poland leads the group heading into the final round of matches.
This Socceroos team lacks the stars of yesteryear, but they compensate with spirit and hard work, and they showed flashes of quality in a strangely subdued match.
For the pre-match national anthem, Australia’s substitutes all had their arms around each other’s shoulders, a sign of the unity that had brought them this far.
Semi-finalists from Europe Denmark, who needed to win to have a chance of progressing, led early on but were unable to earn a point.
