ARCHIE Goodwin's hopes of playing at the FIFA under-20 World Cup have ended in heartbreak after the Young Socceroos were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the qualifying tournament in Uzbekistan.
Australia went down 5-4 on penalties to the host nation on Sunday morning after the scores were locked at 1-all at the end of extra-time.
Goodwin, who was introduced off the bench late in regulation time, converted his penalty in clinical fashion.
Taking the second spot kick, the Newcastle Jets striker sent the keeper the wrong way and tucked a shot into the left corner.
The opening four penalty-takers were successful.
However, Adrian Segecic, who was one of Australia's players of the tournament, had his effort cannon off the crossbar
Umarali Rahmonaliev stepped up and made no mistake, sparking wild scenes in front of more than 33,000 spectators.
The top four from the Asian under-20s qualify for the World Cup in Indonesia.
Goodwin went close to winning the match in regulation time, cutting inside and firing a shot which took a deflection after a desperate lunge from a defender.
Gabriel Popovic had put Australia ahead in the 77th minute, only to have his goal cancelled out two minutes later by Abdirakhmatov Zafarmurod.
"I feel bitterly disappointed for us, our players gave everything," Young Socceroos coach Trevor Morgan said. "We had a lot of belief in the squad and played in a way that we could have won the match and progressed to the World Cup."
Goodwin had opened his international account, scoring a one-on-one chance in the 9-1 win over Qatar in the final group game.
The 18-year-old also won a penalty and provided an assist but it wasn't enough to earn promotion to the starting side for the quarter-final.
The sharp-shooter was in great form for the Jets before going into camp with the Young Socceroos and should be back in time for the must win A-League battle with Perth at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
