Auer Mabel confirmed that the decisive penalty kick he scored for Australia against Peru on Monday was a token of thanks to the country that embraced him and his family as he recalls his journey from a refugee camp in Kenya to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 26-year-old scored Australia’s sixth penalty kick in the international play-off against Peru in Doha, before substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne saved the last kick for the South American team and qualified Sucruz to the finals for the fifth time in a row.
“I was written to record”
Mabel knelt in celebration in amazement and later told reporters he had been written to score.
The winger, who came on as a substitute in the second half, added: I knew I was going to score. It was the only way to say thank you to Australia on behalf of my family.” He continued, “I was born in a hut, a little hut. My hotel room here is definitely bigger than the hut, the room where my family and I used to stay in the refugee camp.
In addition, he added: Our reception from Australia and our resettlement gave me, my brothers and my entire family a chance in life. This is what I mean when I thank Australia for the opportunity to live, the opportunity they have given my family.
His brother, Auer Paul, confirmed to Adelaide Advertisers that his family was very moved by what had happened: Being a child born in a refugee camp was a very touching moment for our community. Just seeing him come onto the pitch representing Australia makes us feel good.
Born in a refugee camp
Referred to as Umm Mabel Born in a refugee camp in Kenya in 1995, a year after his parents fled conflict in South Sudan, he was subsisting on one meal a day as a child and kicked a ball to pass the time.
After his resettlement to Australia in 2006 at the age of eleven, his performances developed which enabled him to join Adelaide United as a teenager, before moving to Denmark’s Midtjylland in 2015. He is currently on loan with Turkey’s Kasimpaşa.
Then he joined the first team for the first time in 2018, months after the World Cup in Russia, and became a player that current coach Graham Arnold depends on. He said he hopes to inspire what other refugees have achieved. He said in this regard: I have registered, many of my colleagues have registered. Everyone played a part in that, and perhaps that refugee child played a part.