Steven Hall was exactly 10 months old when Mark Schwarzer’s penalty shoot-out heroics against Uruguay helped the Subway Socceroos qualify for the 2006 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Twenty years on from one of the most unforgettable nights in Australian football history – when Schwarzer produced an iconic single-handed save to deny Marcelo Zalayeta in that famous penalty shootout – Hall repeated the feat with a similar save to win the Young Socceroos the AFC Under-20 Asian Cup.
Saudi Arabia were the opponents on Saturday night and, having been taken to penalties after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, Hall saved Bassam Hazazi’s spot-kick to end the shootout and clinch a 5-4 win on penalties for Australia – the nation’s first U20 Asian Cup crown.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT (LEFT): SUBWAY SOCCEROOS
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Hall, an Adelaide United product who sealed a move from the Isuzu UTE A-League club to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2024, returned to his home state to a hero’s welcome on Monday.
He was asked by reporters about the similarities between his shootout save and Schwarzer’s for the Socceroos in 2005.
“Yeah, it feels pretty good,” Hall said.
“I mean, I wasn’t around when that happened. It was the year that I was born, but seeing it and seeing people compare that save to his is just an amazing feeling.
“When I first dove, I kind of went past the ball because it was a little bit behind me, but when I hit my glove, I knew I’d saved it.
“And yeah, when I got up and I saw the team and the rest of the boys running towards me, I was just lost for words, like it was just a fantastic feeling. And yeah, just over the moon.”
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Hall’s celebration after securing the shootout victory will go down as one of the unforgettable images of the Young Socceroos’ U20 Asian Cup campaign.
Having watched his save send Hazazi’s penalty off target, Hall leapt to his feet and rushed to the camera to point at a message written on his glove: “For you Grandad.”
Hall had lost his grandfather while on Asian Cup duty with the Young Socceroos.
“He was with me in that shootout, he was with me for the Iraq game and he was with me in the Japan game,” Hall explained.
“That moment, that save, was just all him. So it was just a really proud moment for myself.”
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Hall was one of six South Australians in the Young Socceroos’ Asian Cup squad. All six shared the field during the second half of Australia’s clash with Saudi Arabia in the final.
The Brighton keeper is one of two SA products to have risen through the ranks at Adelaide United to secure an overseas move, alongside Musa Toure. The remaining four – Panagiotis Kikianis, Jonny Yull, Fabian Talladira and Luka Jovanovic – are all current Adelaide squad members set to return to Isuzu UTE A-League action at home against Brisbane Roar this weekend.
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Kikianis joined Hall in fronting the media at Adelaide airport on return from the Asian Cup in China. He took time to reflect on the Young Socceroos’ achievement in Asia – and the pride he felt winning the tournament alongside five fellow South Australian products.
“It’s obviously a massive honour to come home as the champions of Asia,” Kikianis said.
“I believe not many people expected this within Australian football, but I’m definitely sure we all wanted this medal, and we knew we had it in us. And yeah, thankfully, we got it done on Saturday night.”
“We were obviously so proud of representing our nation in such a big tournament. I’m pretty sure there (were) six of us (South Australians) on the pitch at the same time, if I’m correct,” he added.
“So for Australian football, that is amazing – especially for South Australian football, for the program here, it’s an unbelievable program. And I’m sure there’ll be many more to come.”
Kikianis and his three Adelaide and Young Socceroos teammates will now quickly turn attention back to clubland and Adelaide’s clash with Brisbane Roar at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night.
“I think we all hope we get straight back to work,” he said. “We have Brisbane on Saturday. Hopefully can turn the tale around a bit (after) a few unfortunate results in the past month. So hopefully we can come back and start the wins back.”
