The Socceroos are returning home this evening after losing their World Cup knockout match 2-1 to Argentina in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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Mathew Ryan, Jason Cummings, Cameron Devlin, Garang Kuol, Andrew Redmayne, and Daniel Vukovic are expected to arrive in Sydney tonight, while Thomas Deng, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, and Marco Tilio head to Melbourne.
Australian crowds will welcome home a team that out-performed the expectations of many fans.
"They brought so much joy," said Socceroos fan Hendrick Erlando.
The trip home comes after Australia's second foray into the knockout-stage of the World cup, the match reminding fans of the Socceroos 2006 1-0 loss against Italy in an injury time penalty shoot-out.
"Australia looked like the better team," Mr Erlando said.
"We were legitimately competitive in the back half of the game," he said.
Coach Graham Arnold, who has played and coached with the team for 37 years, used daredevil tactics to gain momentum against the Argentinians leaving fans on the edge of their seats.
Melbourne-based Socceroos supporter Jordan Smee said "Mat Ryan just made one mistake but was working so hard to break through the Argentinian defence."
The Socceroos World Cup bid caught the attention of Australian sports fans with public viewing sites springing up around the country to screen Sunday's match.
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Melbourne's Federation Square has hosted increasingly large crowds for match screenings as the Socceroos have progressed through the tournament, with red flare smoke becoming a fixture after each Australian goal.
One Melbourne fan theorised the city's fervour was the result of COVID-19 lockdowns over 2020-2021.
"Melbourne has been so constrained in the last two years, it feels so good to be in a crowd of hundreds cheering at 6am together," said Jordan Smee from the Great Northern in Melbourne's Carlton North.
The World cup continues throughout December with the final match expected to be played on December 19.