Caltex Socceroo Aaron Mooy has told reporters his shootout penalty to help Huddersfield Town win promotion to the English Premier League was a test of his mental strength.
In front of almost 77,000 fans at Wembley overnight, and with his side trailing 3-2 in the shootout after an early miss, Mooy stepped up and coolly slotted his spot kick to level the scores and keep his side in the Championship Play-Off Final against Reading.
WRAP: Shootout thriller! Mooy's Huddersfield seal EPL promotion
The Terriers went on to win the lucrative game 4-3 as around 40,000 of their travelling fans celebrated a famous day in the club's history.
Mooy was seen draped in an Australian flag at Wembley as his attention now turns to the Caltex Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier in Adelaide on June 8.
"I just tried to think positive because of lots of negative things come into your head, like if I miss this I'll cost the team," Mooy told AAP when quizzed about the pressure of a penalty in such a game.
"I didn't want to be the one who stuffed it up.
"After about the 80-minute mark you starting thinking this could go to penalties, I'm going to be definitely taking one."
Mooy added he was fatiguing in the final 30 minutes but Town, coached by German David Wagner, kept their composure when it mattered most in a game dubbed one of the most lucrative in the world.
"They say the Germans don't miss and we've got a lot of Germans, maybe that's why," Mooy, on loan from Manchester City, said.
The Caltex Socceroos tackle Saudi Arabia in a crucial World Cup Qualifer in Adelaide on June 8. Click Here for Tickets
