Alessandro Circati was in the penalty box when Aziz Behich swivelled and shot; Milos Degenek was up the other end of the field.

While the two Socceroos defenders were surprisingly poles apart in their positioning and proximity to Behich’s 90th-minute stunner, both did the exact same thing: made a beeline for their teammate.

Behich’s winner to see off Japan 1-0 at Optus Stadium on Thursday night and put Australia on the verge of a sixth World Cup in a row will go down in Socceroos folklore.

While Saudi Arabia’s win overnight against Bahrain means Australia have not officially qualified yet, only a five-goal loss to the Saudis in Jeddah on Tuesday would see them not directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The Socceroos have conceded five goals in Popovic’s seven games in charge, while the Saudis have only scored six in nine games this qualification campaign.

Circati and Degenek valiantly repelled wave after wave of attack up the other end to help the Socceroos capture the most unlikely of wins.

They would have been feted as heroes had Australia held on for a draw against Japan — but of course, they would both take Behich’s late dramatic goal, with World Cup qualification at stake, any day of the week.

“When you’re kid and you’re writing a story or you’re drawing a picture, this is the sort of things that you dream a picture of,” Circati said.

“To be able to live it today, because it happened today, and to be able to happen to me — maybe it happens to other people, but it doesn’t happen to everyone, so I’m extremely grateful.”

From his vantage point in defence, Degenek admitted he had no idea whether Behich’s shot was going in.

“I was hoping. I was praying like the other 50,000 people (in the stadium),” he said.

“Just that relief, once that ball hit, that 70, sprint to that corner flag, was just the biggest relief.

“Especially in a game of this stature, and then this magnitude, it has been fantastic.”

Circati, the young Perth product who completed a near-miraculous sub-seven month recovery from a torn ACL to take the field in his hometown, said the moments after Behich’s net-burster were a blur.

“It all happened so fast. I actually thought he was going to take a touch, because his body wasn’t facing the best way,” he said.

“He’s hit it first time and as I’ve seen, it came off so cleanly. It was either going going underneath the top corner, or was going into into the fifth row of the grandstand.

“I just remember chasing Aziz and then I think everyone from the bench ran over. There was a bit of toes stepped on, I got my head hit. But it’s all part of it. I’ll live that over and over again to have that feeling.”

Japan had 69 per cent of the possession, 13 shots to just six and more accurate passes in Australia’s half (336) than the Socceroos had all match (215).

For Degenek, it was a source of pride they were still able to prevail with the stats stacked against them.

“This game means more to me, and I’m happier that we won this game than I was in China, where we controlled the game, where we won 2-0 where we had the ball,” he said.

“This game means more to me, and I feel more joy out of winning a game like this, than that game, because this one’s a lot harder for us defenders.

“They had one really good chance, where (Takefusa) Kubo chopped and shot. Apart from that, I don’t think they had many chances inside the box.

“They’re probably considered in the top 20 teams in the world, and to play that good against them is fantastic.”