Ian Oldaker is a veteran organizational manager who has overseen the creation of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Manhattan’s Spyscape. Passionate about soccer, Ian Oldaker followed the national team qualification narrative leading up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

One of the most dramatic turnarounds involved Australia, which has competed in every World Cup since 2006. Unfortunately, the Socceroos were facing a third-place ranking, behind Japan and Saudi Arabia, in the second stage of Asian Football Confederation qualification matches. Facing a must-win situation, Australia scraped by UAE 2-1 on Ajdin Hrustic's 84th-minute winning goal. This sent them to the play-off final with a chance to progress and capture the last remaining spot in the World Cup.

A tough-fought battle ensued, with the Australia-Peru match drawing to a scoreless 0-0 in regulation. This set up a dramatic shoot-out scenario to determine who would move forward. At this point, the Socceroos’ manager Graham Arnold took the risky route of replacing Mat Ryan, the team’s captain and goalkeeper, with Andrew Redmayne. The decision paid off, with the keeper for Sydney FC blocking Alex Valera's final kick and thus ensuring Australia’s entrance into Group D, which includes France and Denmark.