Incredible moment plane full of football fans goes berserk as Cortnee Vine’s penalty puts Matildas in World Cup semi-finals – but one passenger would rather watch a movie
Incredible moment plane full of football fans goes berserk as Cortnee Vine’s penalty puts Matildas in World Cup semi-finals – but one passenger would rather watch a movie
- The airline’s cabin erupted in cheers and claps
- A sudden outburst shocked the flight attendant
- Win made World Cup history for the Matildas
A group of Aussie football fans have been filmed celebrating the Matildas’ nerve-racking victory over France on an airline flight – except for one passenger who preferred to watch The Lord of the Rings.
The footage shows the travelers bursting into cheers and applause as Cortnee Vine sent the Aussies through to their first-ever World Cup semi-final, where they won the longest penalty shootout in the tournament’s history.
Their sudden reaction shocks the flight attendant as she walks down the aisle – but one passenger remains completely oblivious as they watch one of the final scenes in The Return of the King as everyone else in the cabin goes wild.
Football fans had a field day over the footage, with many laughing at the fantasy movie fan for separating himself from the rest of the passengers.
“UnAustralian, refuse them entry. Featured in the next episode of Border Security,” someone tweeted.
‘Come on dude! They destroyed the ring. Surely you can switch to penalty kicks,” another wrote, while a third simply said, “Kiwi found”.
Can you spot the odd one out? While the rest of the cabin erupted in cheers and applause, a passenger was glued to the fantasy movie The Return of the King
The gripping win over Les Bleues had fans across the country glued to their screens and looks set to be a TV ratings juggernaut if we are allowed to deduce anything from Matildas’ previous World Cup matches.
Their round of 16 game against Denmark was watched by more than 3.5 million people – the largest audience for any TV program this year, surpassing the AFL and even the NRL’s mid-season showpiece, the State of Origin series.
The Matildas have steadily garnered more attention as they move deeper into the tournament, from 1.5 million viewers for their loss to Nigeria to 2.5 million for their win over Canada in the group stage before the victory over the Danes.
On Saturday night, they produced what must be the most dramatic football match ever played in Australia, winning through to their first-ever World Cup semi-final after coming out victorious from the longest penalty shootout in the tournament’s history.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was rightly the player of the match.
Cortnee Vine (second from right) is swarmed by her ecstatic teammates after scoring the penalty that sent the Matildas through to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold (left) hugs Sam Kerr after starring in the historic victory
She produced great saves during regulation and extra time, and kept stopping shots during the game’s nerve-racking end.
The 29-year-old grabbed France’s first shot in the shootout and then overcame two setbacks to keep her team in the game.
First, she missed a shot herself, which would have given the Matildas the win had it found the net.
She then kept her composure after stopping another penalty, but France got another try for going off her line.
Arnold stayed calm and stopped that shot too.
When France’s Vicki Becho hit the post at 6-6, Cortnee Vine stepped up to take the most important kick of her life.
Showing no trace of nerve, she tucked it into the bottom corner to kick off incredible scenes in Brisbane.
“I just knew where I would put my pen,” she said after the game.
“In those moments you just have to have faith in what you’ve practiced and at that point I feel like Macca (Arnold) got the job done before it had to.
“She kept it and I just had to put it away.”