World Cup: Andrew Redmayne's full heroics v Peru explained in Twitter thread

On Monday evening, Australia booked their place at the 2022 World Cup.

The Socceroos beat Peru in their inter-confederation play-off and their hero was Andrew Redmayne.

With the two teams drawing 0-0 going into the final minute of extra-time, Australia manager Graham Arnold decided to make a very bold call.

He took off team captain Mathew Ryan – the former Brighton goalkeeper – and brought on Redmayne for the shootout.

At the time, Aussies couldn’t believe what they were seeing, but it proved to be an inspired decision by Arnold.

In sudden-death, Redmayne produced the biggest save of his career to deny Alex Valera and secure Australia’s spot in Qatar later this year.

The Sydney FC goalkeeper’s heroics in the shootout were certainly not just restricted to the save, though.

As Geir Jordet, a football psychology researcher, has highlighted in a detailed Twitter thread, Redmayne performed a “mind game masterclass” to give Australia the edge over Peru.

From his elaborate dance moves on the goal line to acting as a bodyguard for his teammates before they took their spot kick, Redmayne really stepped up when his country needed him most.

Check out Jordet’s brilliant thread in full…

A penalty shootout is a psychological game. Andrew Redmayne gave a mind game master class as Australia beat Peru on penalties to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. What did he do and why did it work? Thread 1/9 pic.twitter.com/uRjTCs8pfn

This was not Redmayne’s first dance. He used the same technique when saving two kicks in the shootout that gave his Sydney FC the A-league title vs Perth in 2019. Other than that, his shootout experience is limited and his regular penalty saving percentage is poor (13%). 3/9 pic.twitter.com/ztmCF0Kh68

After each shot,