Socceroos star Cameron Devlin has scored maybe the largest objective of Australia’s World Cup marketing campaign regardless of by no means seeing any on-field motion in Qatar.
The defensive midfielder popped up behind the scenes on the proper place and the fitting time within the bowels of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium to accumulate Argentine legend Lionel Messi’s taking part in shirt.
The 24-year-old is leaving Qatar with a memento to match Mitch Duke and Harry Souttar’s man of the match awards.
Whereas some Socceroos gamers have been criticised on-line for being “fanboys” when posing for images with Messi after the match, Devlin is broadly being praised for the brazenness of his hit and run mission.
Devlin additionally handed over his personal shirt to Messi. Its whereabouts are unknown.
The shirt is all of the extra momentous given it was Messi’s one thousandth sport for membership and nation and was additionally the primary time he has ever scored within the knockout phases on the World Cup.
Standard social media writer SPORTbible earlier posted imaginative and prescient of Australian gamers Keanu Baccus, Joel King and Marco Tilio asking Messi to pose for images after the match.
They then appeared thrilled as they seemed on the photos on their cell phones.
All three gamers, in addition to Australia’s objective scorer Craig Goodwin, posted photos of themselves with Messi to their Instagram accounts within the wake of the Socceroos’ exit from the match.
“To be aside of one thing so particular and to have learnt a lot. To then assembly my idol rising up and the most effective participant on this planet. I’m so grateful and really feel blessed,” Tilio wrote.
Of the 4 gamers, Goodwin is the one actually established member of the Socceroos squad.
Baccus made his first worldwide begin within the 2-1 defeat in opposition to Argentina and King and Tilio didn’t play.
Injured star Martin Boyle additionally popped up in a photograph with the little grasp.
However that didn’t cease some followers taking purpose at their post-game angle.
“They need to be suspended from the nationwide group,” one wrote.
“I believe lots of people can be upset nonetheless at leaving the World Cup to fret a couple of selfie with Messi,” wrote one other.
However there have been loads of others able to defend the gamers for recording a treasured reminiscence.
“It’s not day-after-day you see a goat or play with him,” one wrote. “These gamers someday will present these photos to their grandchildren and inform them I performed in opposition to the Goat.”
“Anybody of their scenario would do precisely the identical and also you’re mendacity in the event you say in any other case!” wrote one other.
“Arguably the best participant to ever stroll the planet and so they’ve had the fortune to play on the identical pitch with him at a World Cup. Actually nothing to see right here,” added a 3rd.
You would hardly fault the gamers’ intent on the pitch both.
Goodwin scored — and Baccus definitely made no try to get in Messi’s good books when he bowled him over within the early phases of the match.
