Australian Cypriot footballer Aziz Behich on Thursday night scored a last-minute winner for Australia’s national team against Japan to all but secure the Socceroos’ place at next year’s World Cup.

Behich’s 90th minute strike was the only goal of the game in Perth, and it came after Riley McGree reached the byline and cut the ball back into space on the edge of the Japanese penalty area.

Behich was the first to meet it and lashed it past Japanese goalkeeper Kosei Tani to send the 57,000 packed into the Perth Stadium, and much of Australia, into pandemonium.

The Socceroos now only need to avoid defeat by eight goals or more away against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah to officially book their spot at the World Cup.

Behich’s goal was only his third for the Austalian national side, with the other two both having come during an 8-0 dispatching of Chinese Taipei almost 13 years ago, in 2012.

Speaking after the match, Behich said, “it hasn’t quite sunk in just yet, but when that final whistle went, it’s a great feeling”.

“It was a tough game, we knew we had to grind it out, and the boss [Tony Popovic] said at half time, no matter how tough it gets, we’ll get our opportunity if we stick to it, and fortunately enough it fell for me,” he added.

He then said that “my right foot has been kind to me in the last few days”, referencing a deft backheeled path which led to the only goal in the final of Australia’s premier football competition, the A League, for his team Melbourne City.

Melbourne City beat fierce city rivals Melbourne Victory 1-0 in a closely-contested A final to clinch the title on Saturday at the city’s Aami Park, with Behich, Melbourne City’s captain, getting his hands on the trophy.

“In a football sense, it’s definitely the best week, and I am going to enjoy this one, definitely … It’s been a long campaign, and we’ve worked so hard this campaign … but the group we have in this team, their mentality is second to none, and we more than deserve going to a World Cup again,” he said of the two games.

Behich wheels away after scoring

Born in Melbourne in 1990 to Cypriot immigrant parents, Behich began his football career at Melbourne Victory, before moving to his current club in 2010 under their previous name of Melbourne Heart.

He then spent the bulk of his career in Europe, playing for Bursaspor, Istanbul Basaksehir, Kayserispor, and Giresunspor in Turkey, while also turning out for Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven and Scottish outfit Dundee United, and taking in a brief spell at Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.

Earlier in his Socceroos career, he was a part of the country’s 2015 Asian Cup winning squad and played at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.