Luke Remington scored a superb last minute equaliser to earn the Qantas Joeys a 1-1 draw with Denmark in their final Group F match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico at Estadio Corregidora, Queretaro. The draw meant that Qantas Joeys finished the group in third place and will play Uzbekistan in the Round of 16 match on Wednesday (local time).
The match was replayed after heavy downpour and lightning forced the officials to suspend the earlier match, which kicked off the day before, just 25 minutes into the game.
Denmark looked to have the game in the bag after Sorenson Rochester's 35th minute goal gave Denmark the advantage but a moment of individual brilliance from Remington in the 89th minute ensured the share of the spoils.
Going into the match, the Qantas Joeys knew that they had to get a result or lose by less than a three goal margin to progress to the next round after Brazil and Côte d'Ivoire had drawn 3-3 on Sunday in the other group match.
Denmark controlled the first half and came close to open the scoring in the 30th minute when Yurary's cross from the left found Lasse Vigen in the box but Vigen sent his shot straight into the arms of Qantas Joeys goalkeeper Paul Izzo.
Five minutes later, from a similar setup, Jacob Barret outran the Australian defence before crossing the ball into the box. Izzo managed to get a touch of the ball but it fell perfectly at the feet of Rochester and he made no mistakes to place the ball home to put Denmark ahead.
Things got worse for the Qantas Joeys when Perkatis was given his marching orders straight after the restart for a dangerous tackle and the Qantas Joeys were forced to play the remaining of the match with ten men.
Qantas Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen made one change at half time bringing on Remington for Stephan Mauk.
Denmark had plenty of chances to increase their lead in the second half but they were wasteful in front of goal and Izzo was also equal to the task, making numerous saves to deny Denmark their second goal.
With minutes left to play, Denmark pushed forward and from a Barret's free kick outside the box, Yurary's header came off the woodwork, to the relief of the Qantas Joeys. Denmark's hopes of progressing to the next round were finally ended in the 89th minute when Remington scored the equaliser for Australia.
From a counter attack, Remington used his strength to dribble the ball past two defenders before firing a shot just outside the box and beyond the reach of Oliver Korch. Remington celebrated his goal with an even better back flip to seal third place in the group and send the Qantas Joeys through to the knockout stage of the competition.
After the match Jan Versleijen was relieved that his team achieved a result from the match.
"You don't make the next round just because of your last match, but because of the previous results as well. It wasn't our greatest ever performance against Côte d'Ivoire. The first half against Brazil was good, but we lost.
"We knew Denmark had to score three goals today. Our intention was to control the match, but apart from the first 20 minutes, we didn't succeed. Obviously, the red card made it even harder.
"Paul Izzo made some good saves and Denmark had a lot of chances but the luck was on our side and once we scored near the end you know your qualification for the next round is certain."
"Denmark had lots of chances, but fortune favoured us today. We'll have to play better in our next match, because we can't play like that again. That's what we'll work on in the next two days," concluded Versleijen.