'That refugee kid' Mabil thanks Australia after scoring crucial penalty

The 26-year-old calmly scored the Socceroos' sixth spot kick in Doha before watching goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne heroically save Peru's final penalty to send Australia to a fifth straight World Cup.

Mabil sank to the ground in disbelief and later told Australian reporters it was his destiny to score. "I knew I was going to score. It was the only way to say thank you to Australia on behalf of my family," the winger said.

Mabil was born in a refugee camp in Kenya after his parents fled conflict in Sudan, surviving on one meal a day as a child and kicking a ball around to pass the time. After being resettled in Australia in 2006, he developed his football enough to join Adelaide United as a teenager and then moved to Denmark's FC Midtjylland. He is currently on loan to Turkish club Kasimpasa.