The Australian footballing public didn't need to wait for what they wanted to see: 18-year-old Nestory Irankunda, one of the most promising talents the domestic game has produced in decades, had been tapped by Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold to start in his senior international debut, against Bangladesh, and there was much rejoicing.
Admittedly, what followed wasn't a particularly memorable game by Irankunda or his teammates -- Arnold believed it was a dangerous fixture, given the state of the pitch -- but the much-agonised debut has come and gone. "In a 2-0 win against Bangladesh at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka during World Cup qualifying" will be coming to a pub trivia night near you in about 15 or so years; hopefully at the end of a long and successful international career.
This international window marks Irankunda's last swim around the Australian footballing fishbowl before he jets off to the relative anonymity of Bayern Munich. Absurd as it may sound that a move to one of the biggest clubs in the world could result in a player receiving less of the spotlight, the young South Australian will soon be just another of the multitude of young, incredibly talented players seeking to force their way into consideration at a club where the only thing that carries more weight than winning is the fury that comes with losing.
But at this stage, maybe this is the best thing for all involved. There is an almost reflexive concern in Australian circles whenever a player moves to a giant club, fear that development may be stilted by a lack of opportunity. But at Bayern, Irankunda will be allowed to do something he hasn't been able to do since he first burst onto the A-League Men scene as a 15-year-old with Adelaide United: Develop out of the spotlight. Sure, there will be some attention -- Frank Linkesch of Kicker has reported he will train with the first team when he arrives so Vincent Kompany and co. can better assess his quality -- but he's just another of the countless wunderkind who descends on Europe, and he won't be seen as the future of Die Mannschaft in the eyes of the German press. He's got all the talent in the world; now the onus is on him to become the kind of professional who can take advantage of it.
But before the Bundesliga, there was Bangladesh. And much like his teammates, Irankunda didn't get much joy against a low block that sat so deep it was almost in the car park behind one of the goals. There were flashes of potential: He cut inside in the 17th minute and let loose with a long-range effort that he couldn't make proper contact with; and he made a sumptuous collection of a cross-field Kye Rowles pass to go around a defender before beating another and shooting wide minutes before he was substituted off in the second half. At one stage it was maybe looking like he'd grabbed a (very generous) assist when he played the ball back for Ajdin Hrustić to shoot from 35 metres, only for a massive deflection off Mehedi Hasan saw it declared an own goal. But it was a slog of an evening.
Irankunda eventually came off just after Kusini Yengi made it 2-0 in the 64th minute, the striker rising over his defender to nod home from a well-placed ball from Jordy Bos to seal the game. Fittingly, he made way for a former prodigy in Daniel Arzani, who made his first appearance for the national team since being the youngest player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Arzani, too, gave flashes of the unique creative talents that he can bring to the national team setup, when fully fit and firing, and that was a major positive from the contest.
It was Bos, though, who was Australia's best player. With Aziz Behich on the bench, the 21-year-old was moved off the wing and back to left-back -- the position in which his long-term future with the national team hopefully lies -- but the almost complete dearth of Bangladeshi attacks meant he did very little defending. Instead, he provided the main thrust of the Socceroos' most promising forays forward, as one of the few players who were relatively consistent with their delivery from the flanks and efforts to drive past defenders. Surging into the box and being crunched by three Bangladesh defenders late in the first half, he probably wins a penalty if the game wasn't a meeting between No. 24-ranked Australia and No. 184 Bangladesh -- the 160 places between the teams setting a record for the largest gap between the Socceroos and an opponent on FIFA's rankings.
As a whole, though, the overarching themes of the Socceroos when confronted by low Asian blocks were once again on show on Tuesday. Bogging down in the final third and unable to find a way through the mass of bodies that was the Bangladesh backline, cross after cross was swung into the penalty area for little in the way of success; Australia's 74% of possession resulted in just four shots on goal. Half-chances that did arise went begging, with Hrustić's hit-and-hope strike sandwiched by Irankunda, Jackson Irvine, Mitchell Duke, and Harry Souttar all being unable to send sort-of-chances onto Mitul Marma's goal.
Duke had the best of those opportunities, picked out by Bos for a free header in the 27th minute that he sent wide. A consummate teammate, the Machida Zelvia man finds himself in an awkward position coming out of the game. He will be happy to see Yengi get on the scoresheet but, at the same time, he's in a battle with the attacker eight years his junior to be considered Arnold's No. 1 forward option, with the Portsmouth player now having netted in back-to-back games.
More broadly, the 90 minutes of toil were of the sort that have become very familiar amid the dog days of Asian qualifying across the past four years; own goal is now level with Craig Goodwin as the Socceroos' most prolific scorer in 2024.
The temperature was 33C at kickoff, with the humidity that suffocatingly blanketed the stadium making it feel hotter still. And despite the memories of the 7-0 thrashing in Melbourne last November, the Bengal Tigers are a completely different side at home -- not conceding more than two goals at home since Javier Cabrera became their coach; they last conceded more than twice at home in their 3-0 defeat by Burundi in the Bangabandhu Cup in January 2020.
The pitch, likewise, was in a poor state even before kickoff, after torrential downpours in the build-up, and it only degraded as the game wore on. Arnold declared the surface "unacceptable" and a risk to player safety, with Yengi not shy in concurring.
"The grass is too long, there's too much water, it's too muddy, it's patchy, the ball holds up, it's a really soft surface," Yengi said. "So, when we're running for the ball, when both teams are contesting for the ball, it's easy to slip and accidentally tackle someone, which you saw plenty of times out here. The surface is dangerous, not [just] for us, but for everyone and it's difficult to play the ball on."
Australia have now recorded five wins from five during qualifying, with no goals conceded, and they will hope that record doesn't give way to a reality check as it did in the last qualifying campaign.
For all the systemic challenges in Bangladesh, there was genuine excitement over the starting XI run out by Arnold, and the hope will be that, on a much improved Perth Oval surface, next week's clash with Palestine will be more entertaining. Cameron Burgess and Alessandro Circati will start in their home town in that game, with an expanded role also likely for Arzani. Glory skipper and Perth boy Adam Taggart shapes as a likely starter, too, possibly alongside Apostolos Stamatelopoulos up top.
Maybe we'll get a chance to see Irankunda, either as a starter or in his devastating super-sub role off the bench; one final appearance in the Aussie fishbowl before he's dropped in the ocean of European football.