Leichhardt Oval. December 21, 2021. Number 36 glows green on the fourth official’s substitute’s board.
A 17-year-old Central Coast Mariners prospect takes to the pitch, making his senior club debut against NPL outfit APIA Leichhardt.
Within a matter of minutes, Garang Kuol writes his name onto the scoresheet.
Since that Tuesday night in late December, he’s never looked back.
It’s been a year to the day since Kuol made his Mariners bow, and the 365 days that followed have been nothing short of exceptional.
Along the way he became an icon of the Isuzu UTE A-League, and an A-Leagues All Star. He became the youngest Socceroo since Harry Kewell, and the youngest FIFA Men’s World Cup debutant since Pele. And, in January, he’ll officially join Premier League giants Newcastle United.
It’s been a remarkable rise to notoriety for the 18-year-old, and in the space of just one year, no less. This is how he got here from then to now, with Wednesday night’s A-League Men F3 Derby a milestone match to celebrate “Garangski’s” emphatic impact on Australian football.
December 21, 2021: Goal on Mariners debut in FFA Cup
From January – February of 2021, Alou Kuol scored five goals in six A-League Men games to explode onto the Australian football scene.
It was only natural following on from his older brother’s exciting escapades, that a 17-year-old Garang Kuol caused mass excitement with a goal on debut in the Australia Cup on December 21, 2021.
Commentary to maiden Mariners goal
Ben Homer: ‘Look at the speed of Kuol – and the goal as well!
Phil Moss: “Well, he certainly didn’t take that like a 17-year-old. He took that like a player with much, much more experience and composure.”
April 5, 2022: Goal on A-League Men debut against Wellington
A goal on Australia Cup debut, and a goal on his A-League Men bow.
Kuol was thrust into the thick of domestic action against Wellington Phoenix in early April, and didn’t disappoint in a 5-0 Mariners win.
Kuol collected a lofted through pass from Lewis Miller, and his inventive first-time strike caught ‘Nix keeper Oil Sail off guard.
Commentary to debut A-League Men goal:
Teo Pellizzeri: “Here’s a long ball, Garang Kuol is there… and scores!
“Garang Kuol, 17 years old, first Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s goal. What a moment for him!”
Phil Moss: “That is brave… that is brilliance.”
April 23, 2022: Kuol seals the F3 Derby
Kuol’s first taste of the F3 Derby ended with a game-breaking goal in a win on the road.
The Mariners led Newcastle Jets 3-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium, before the hosts pegged two goals back in an entertaining derby clash. Mariners boss Nick Montgomery called on Kuol to come off the bench and find the sealer.
Commentary to F3 Derby sealer
Simon Hill: “It’s Garang Kuol – what a finish! Three points banked for the Mariners, and what a goal by Garang Kuol off the bench!”
April 30, 2022: Kuol the difference with Western winner
In the F3 Derby it was a late sealer. Next time out, it was a late winner. By the end of April Kuol was on the march, scoring big goals in big games – including his solitary strike in a 1-0 win over Western United in Gosford.
March 3, 2022: Third goal in three games and Kuol’s on a roll
A 31-minute cameo off the bench for Kuol against Brisbane Roar at Kayo Stadium featured a well-taken goal in a 2-0 win which showcased his impeccable timing.
In a penalty area packed with Brisbane bodies, Kuol plays a one-two with Storm Roux and somehow finds himself the space needed to finish from a tight angle. It was his third goal in as many games for the Mariners in the A-League Men.
Commentary to Kuol’s emphatic Roar finish
Campbell Johnson: “Garang Kuol! Watch this space. What a player.”
Amy Chapman: “This kid is an absolute superstar!”
May 25, 2022: Kuol wows Xavi in pulsating display for A-Leagues All Stars v Barcelona
Throughout his debut A-League Men season, Kuol expressed his undeniable talent to the Australian public with a series of outstanding cameos off his club side’s bench.
Against Barcelona in May, he showed his wares to the world.
Kuol’s performance had everything but a goal, with the crossbar struck by one lethal effort, and the post shaved by another off the back of a driving run which began in the All Stars’ defensive half.
Barcelona boss Xavi could hardly believe Kuol’s age as he reflected on his performance at the end of his side’s 3-2 win at Accor Stadium.
“He did really well,” Xavi told Network 10 post-match. “He created many chances and almost scored.
“(Seventeen)?… Maybe he’s a big liar!” Xavi said, questioning how a player can perform with such confidence at such a young age. “At (17), that’s unbelievable. All the best for him, and all the players.”
September 25, 2022: Socceroos debut
Garang Kuol’s A-Leagues form warranted selection in the Socceroos’ squad for a two-game friendly series against New Zealand in September.
With head coach Graham Arnold in the midst of finalising his squad for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar, Kuol wasted little time in making his impact off the bench against the All Whites in Auckland.
Kuol earned a penalty for Australia with a surging run down the right flank, which Mariners teammate Jason Cummings stepped forward to dispatch. The pair had terrorised defenders in the A-League Men for months on end – they proceeded to do the same on the international stage.
Kuol became the youngest player to represent Australia since Harry Kewell in 1996 on Socceroos debut.
September 30, 2022: Kuol signs for Newcastle United
An unforgettable week in the life of the now 18-year-old began with a Socceroos debut and ended with a move sealed to English Premier League giants Newcastle United.
Kuol put pen to paper on a January switch to Newcastle upon Tyne, returning to Gosford and the Mariners prior to the planned move in the new year.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe expressed his excitement after signing a “young player of huge potential” which showed the club’s ambition to sign young players and develop them in the club’s system:
November 9, 2022: Kuol confirmed as World Cup Socceroo
In early November, Kuol’s ascension from teenage Mariners prospect to the World Cup with the Socceroos was complete. Arnold’s 26-man squad for Qatar had room for the 18-year-old – and he would go on to play his part on the biggest stage in world football.
November 13, 2022: Brilliant brace in World Cup send-off
Just days after Arnold’s World Cup squad announcement, Kuol put on a performance to savour in Gosford.
The Mariners were 2-0 down and a man down prior to Kuol’s injection into their clash with Macarthur FC, and the teenager went on to break the game apart.
He scored a penalty to halve the deficit before bagging arguably the finest goal of his professional career to date, scoring on the turn from a tight angle to make it 2-2. Macarthur would go on to score a late winner – but all the headlines were written by Kuol on that afternoon in a special World Cup send-off.
November 23, 2022: Kuol makes history in World Cup bow
The Socceroos lost 4-1 to France in their World Cup opener – but amidst the defeat came a special moment for Kuol. An appearance off the bench in the 73rd minute made Kuol the youngest player (18 years, 79 days) to feature at a Men’s World Cup finals since Pele in 1958.
December 4, 2022: That agonising moment against Argentina
You can’t help but wonder what would have happened if it had hit the back of the net.
Kuol, with the ball at his feet inside the box with 97 minutes on the clock, with the Socceroos trailing Argentina 2-1 in the Round of 16. It’s the type of moment Kuol has relished seizing throughout his blossoming career in the A-League Men.
But this was the World Cup.
Argentina ‘keeper Emiliano Martinez met Kuol eye-to-eye in the big moment and came out on top, sprawling his body in front of the shot from a narrow angle to deny Kuol a moment which would have sent the rising star into the stratosphere.
The underside of Martinez’s left arm is all that prevented Australia taking the eventual champions Argentina to extra time, in the ultimate “what if” moment.
Spend too much time looking at the images below, and you’ll find yourself deeply pondering the possibilities of what could have happened next for both that gallant Socceroos side, and Kuol himself.
December 17, 2022: At last, a start
Back in Australia for the month before his Newcastle move, Kuol was at last handed a start in the Mariners’ XI for his side’s A-League Men meeting with Sydney FC at Central Coast Stadium.
Mariners boss Nick Montgomery had called on Kuol 14 times prior to the Round 8 fixture, but refused to stray from his favoured approach of utilising the danger man off the bench.
It made for the absurd scenario of Kuol debuting for the Socceroos, and venturing to the World Cup finals, without making a professional start at club level.
Finally, he broke the shackles. He rewarded Montgomery with an assist in a 2-1 win over the Sky Blues.
December 21, 2022: The year that was culminates in F3 Derby
Wednesday, December 21, 2022. It’s been a year since Kuol’s first appearance and goal as a Mariner. It’s only fitting that the anniversary is marked by Kuol’s fourth taste of the F3 Derby, which kicks off at Industree Group Stadium at 7.00pm AEDT on Wednesday night.
It’s the first of three Central Coast fixtures left to play before New Years Day, which will signal the end of Kuol’s brief and brilliant stint in the A-League Men.
In just 365 days, the life of a teenager from Shepparton Victoria has forever changed, off the back of majestic A-League Men form which helped to springboard Kuol into the global spotlight.
Kuol’s golden chance to score a World Cup goal against Argentina felt like the final paragraph in the first chapter of his exhilarating story. He’s in the midst of writing the first lines of chapter two in this run of A-League Men fixtures.
You can only hope the next 365 days on his journey are teeming with as many remarkable moments as the 365 just gone.
MATCH DETAILS – F3 DERBY
Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Wendesday, December 21
Kick-off: 7.00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Paramount+
MATCH CENTRE | BUY TICKETS | HOW TO WATCH
