AUSTRALIA brilliantly stole Denmark’s tactical note towards the end of their crucial 1-0 World Cup win on Wednesday night.
As the Danes chased a way back into the match with 20 minutes remaining, substitute Andreas Cornelius came onto the pitch carrying a piece of paper.
He handed it over to midfielder Christian Eriksen who read it, before the camera cut away.
Moments later, Australian striker Mitchell Duke could be seen picking the note off the floor and carrying it over to the sideline for the coaching staff.
Manager Graham Arnold and assistant coach Rene Meulensteen both read what was written.
And so did Aussie coaching staff member Andrew Clark – the current strength and conditioning coach for Danish side FC Copenhagen.
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Two minutes later, the Socceroos then switched from a 4-4-2 formation to a 5-4-1.
Australia then saw out the match despite late pressure from Denmark as they booked their place in the last-16.
After losing their opener 4-1 to France, 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark have seen them reach the second round for the first time since 2006.
Reacting to the note debacle on social media, one person said: “Great s***housery.”
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Another added: “You kind of deserve what you get if you take hand written notes onto the pitch and leave it there for the taking 🤷♂️.”
And a third said: “That’s what you get for littering.”
But the sneaky note-stealing move is not the first crafty tactic Australia have used to get an edge in an important game.
During their World Cup play-off clash with Peru, keeper Andrew Redmayne hilariously succeeded in throwing away his opposition number’s water bottle.
The match went to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, with spot kick specialist Redmayne coming off the bench in the final moments.
He quickly became aware Peru keeper Pedro Gallese had the Australian penalty takers names on his bottle.
And so Redmayne proceeded to launch it away as Gallese stood in goal waiting for Australia’s second penalty.
The Aussie shot-stopper then saw one Peruvian penalty hit the post, before he saved the decisive one to send his country to Qatar.
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And his antics in the goal captured headlines after the game, mostly in response to his enthusiastic dancing along the line while waiting for the penalties to be taken.
Australia will now face Argentina in the last-16 of the World Cup on Saturday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
