Victoria’s Garang Kuol made history on Wednesday morning, becoming the youngest Socceroos to make an appearance at a World Cup.
When the forward came off the bench in the 73rd minute he also became the ninth youngest all-time player to feature in the tournament's history at only 18 years and 68 days old.
The former Goulburn Valley Sun said it was an “unreal experience” making his World Cup debut at a packed Al Janoub Stadium in Doha.
“It’s a dream to come to this stage of football and only hard works get you there,” he told SBS post-match.
"Going into the game I was just excited to go on to the pitch and when the option came, I just wanted to get on the ball," he said.
“The boys played well, and we were just unlucky, France are a top team.”
Following Australia’s 4-1 defeat to the reigning World Cup winners, Kuol conceded Les Bleus were a class above.
“It was a good taste to see the level that the (French) players were at, some play in the (English) Premier League and some play in the Champions League,” he told the media.
“We have to get ourselves to that level.
“You can see six-foot-four (inches) people that are as quick as me.
“That shows you the big difference between me and some of those players and how I have got to reach that level. The boys were just chasing France around.”
The Socceroos will regroup following their tough loss to France before facing Tunisia on Saturday at 9:00pm AEDT.
“I hope the boys can pull up, play well, and me personally I hope I can get on the pitch,” Kuol concluded.
Picture: Maddie Meyer - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)