‘I was speechless’: McGree shocks the world in Green & Gold once again

After advancing to the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 for just the second time with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Denmark on Thursday morning (AEDT), Socceroos midfield Riley McGree hailed the victory as one of the proudest moments in his career so far. 

It was a result that even eclipsed the memories of defeating the might of Argentina with the Olyroos at last year's Olympic Men's Football Tournament. 

The 24-year-old started his third FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ match and put in a solid shift as the Socceroos secured back-to-back World Cup victories for the first time ever. 

McGree, who assisted Mathew Leckie’s 60th-minute goal with a superb through ball, said the win was one of his proudest moments in a football jersey.

“Yeah for sure, it definitely tops it (the win over Argentina)," he said. "It’s one of the proudest moments in my career.” 

“Hopefully, we can go one more.

(When the final whistle went) it was surreal, I was speechless. I was soaking it in, it was a real goosebump moment.

“We couldn't be prouder of each other.”  

The Socceroos finished runners-up in Group D on six points behind France and now square off against the two-time World Cup winners Argentina, who topped Group C with six points. 

While the achievement will be remembered for a very long time, the squad needs to quickly turn their attention to Sunday's match.

Despite limited days to prepare for the clash, McGree said they will approach the match in the exact same fashion as their previous World Cup matches. 

“Bring it on,” he said. 

We are prepared. We will go out there with the exact same belief in ourselves and see what happens.” 

The match will take place at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the same venue the Socceroos defeated Peru on penalties in June to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.