'A moment that I’m going to treasure for the rest of my life': Duke

Socceroos forward, Mitch Duke said his winning goal in Australia’s 1-0 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ win over Tunisia on Saturday night was a moment he’d treasure for the rest of his life.

Duke’s first half header secured just Australia’s third victory at the FIFA World Cup and first since 2010 against Serbia.

The 31-year-old became Australia’s eighth goal-scorer at the FIFA World Cup when he excellently to adjusted his body to expertly flick his header beyond Aymen Dahmen after Craig Goodwin’s cross took a wicked deflection.

Saturday’s victory means the Socceroos control their destiny going into their final Group D match against Denmark on Thursday morning AEDT.
 

Speaking post-match Duke revealed he shared a touching moment with his son Jaxson whilst celebrating his goal against Tunisia.

“I spoke to my son as I got selected in the World Cup and as a striker you need to have that confidence and believe that you’re going to score in every match,” Duke said.

“I actually was messaging some of my family saying that I was going to score today and I told my son that I was going to share this moment with him and get that celebration.
 

“The gesture was a letter J, for the first letter of his name and I haven’t seen it yet but apparently he did it back to me from the Stadium which was a really special moment that I’m going to treasure for the rest of my life.

“When the full time whistle went and I got immediately interviewed, I was trying to hold back the tears because it is a very special moment for me.

“There has been a lot of sacrifice for family, I’ve been on my own a lot of the time in the last couple of years, it hasn’t been easy but these kind of moments make those sacrifices worth it and that’s the mentality you need to have.

“I was very happy to get the goal, help Australia get the result, everybody did their job and yeah to be honest it’s just the best feeling in the world.”