Bailey Wright reveals World Cup heartbreak amid Australia celebrations
A heartbroken Bailey Wright dedicated Australia’s World Cup win over Denmark to his mother-in-law after revealing she had taken ill back home.
Wright was a second-half substitute for the Socceroos as they beat Denmark 1-0 to secure their spot in the last 16.
It was his first taste of action in Qatar, but he received the news just minutes after the final whistle to cut his celebrations short.
“I’ve just come in from a message from my wife," Wright tearfully told reporters. "I just want to dedicate this to my wife, bless her, and her mum. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if she’s still with us.
“It was, for them, a really tough time back home, but ultimately, it made this possible for me to be here and live one of my dreams so I dedicate that to Tammy. I hope she’s still with us.
“No one [in the team] knows. That’s something I’ve kept to myself; we’ve all got a lot going on. Job to do, isn’t it? You’ve got to be professional all the time.”
It is just the second time that Australia have reached the knockout stage of a World Cup, and they will now face Argentina in the last 16 on Saturday.
Wright, though, says that while many doubted Australia would come through a tough group that included World champions France and Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, he always believed in his teammates.
“When we set out on this journey four years ago, Arnie said to us what he wanted us to be about — our mateship and togetherness is what’s going to make us create history,” the Sunderland defender said.
“I think the four-year journey, sacrifices that staff and players have made — a lot of people wouldn’t have seen those sacrifices, people isolating, being away from family for weeks, months. There’s a lot of people that aren’t here that have put that work in.
“But we’ve always felt a sense of togetherness that your mate’s got your back. It’s 11 brothers out there, whoever comes on, and it’s pretty special to be part of that. When you’re part of something like that, it’s difficult to really, actually put it into words, what it feels like. It’s a real feeling.
“A few of us have said now that that feeling kind of won the game today, and we’ve got through the group. And I’m kind of not surprised. Well, we’re not surprised, because we knew what we were capable of.
“We’ve proved that we like doing things the hard way, because we know that we’ve got each other and we’ll always have each other’s backs and that’s pretty incredible.”