Sam Lewis

Anyone who’s been paying attention to the Socceroos over the past 18 months already knows about Nestory Irankunda, but the youngster’s performance against Brazil last week undoubtedly introduced him to a whole new South American audience.

From his slaloming run and strike in the sixth minute to his bullet free kick to put Australia ahead in the 68th, the Sporting winger reminded all of us what he’s capable of when played in the position he’s best at.

It does make you wonder what the World Cup may have looked like for the Socceroos had Irankunda played down the left for the whole tournament, instead of spending the final few games at centre-forward where he played with his back to goal and got shoved to the ground most of the time.

Head coach Tony Popovic said he has “no major regrets” from the World Cup, though admitted he had reflected on the loss to Egypt and the lack of impact Australia had in the front third up until the penalty shoot-out. Juggling different players based on fitness and fatigue levels was part of that dilemma, apparently, while the loss of Jacob Italiano and Jordan Bos to injury took the wind out of their sails.

Yet the question of Irankunda still lingers. With Mohamed Touré and Tete Yengi – two natural centre-forwards – seemingly available for those games, Popovic persisted with Irankunda up front against Egypt, where he achieved very little and looked frustrated as a result.

But against Brazil last week, we saw how lethal he can be when given the space to turn and tear in behind or run directly at defenders. He’s in the line-up once again tonight, where you’d expect to see the same. Come the Asian Cup, one would hope Popovic has learned that lesson, too.