DOHA: Australia’s dancing substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne saved the last penalty to clinch a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar as they edged Peru 5-4 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw after extra time in an inter-continental playoff on Monday. Redmayne danced across the goal-line before diving to the right to stop a penalty from Alex Valera and hand Australia a deserved victory at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Redmayne had been brought on three minutes from the end of the game for the shootout and became an instant hero with his antics on the line as he looked to distract the rival kickers. He danced up and down, wiggling his hips and throwing his arms about in a throwback to the clowning antics of Liverpool’s Bruce Grobbelaar when they won the European Cup in 1984. It was enough for Luis Advincila to fire his effort against the post and then Valera to have his effort saved as Australia qualified for a fifth successive World Cup and a sixth in total. They will play in World Cup Group D with holders France, Denmark and Tunisia. The finals run from Nov. 21-Dec. 18. “I am just so proud of the players,” said Australia coach Graham Arnold. “Really no one knows what these boys have been through to get here, it was so hard, the whole campaign. The way they stuck at it, the way they committed themselves, brilliant.” Australia’s Martin Boyle had missed their first penalty but they converted the next five to silence the thousands of Peru fans who had travelled for the game and provided noisy support but saw their team conjure up few opportunities. Instead, a workmanlike Australia dominated the early exchanges, with winger Boyle twice cutting through the Peruvian defence to provide teasing crosses. Limited efforts: The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with limited efforts on goal until the 80th minute when Australia suddenly had three good opportunities to win the match. Ajdin Hrustic’s tame free kick was easily saved by Peru captain Pedro Gallese and five minutes later Aziz Behich broke through two tackles and suddenly found himself in front of goal but narrowly missed as he tried to curl his shot into the net. Then a run down the left by Australia substitute Awer Mabil saw him slip the ball into the path of Hrustic but he did not get enough power on his shot and Gallese saved again. Nine minutes into extra time Australia’s Mathew Ryan was finally tested by a stinging shot from Edison Flores that the goalkeeper saved. Flores then headed against the post as the South Americans found an extra gear in the closing stages but they were still unable to settle the result after two hours of play, setting the stage for Redmayne to emerge as a hero. The single game playoff between the fifth-placed finishers in Asian and South American qualifying determined the 31st place at this year’s World Cup. On Tuesday, the last place at the finals will be decided when Costa Rica and New Zealand clash in their inter-continental playoff, also at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Australia celebrates making fifth straight World Cup: Australia erupted in celebration Tuesday after the Socceroos made a fifth straight World Cup, with football superstar Sam Kerr leading the charge, telling the doubters to “eat your hats”. It was an extraordinary turnaround for a team that won 11 games on the trot during qualifying before a slump forced them into a do-or-die qualifier against the United Arab Emirates and then Peru. “Doubters eat your hats, we’re going to the World Cup,” tweeted jubilant Chelsea and Australian striker Kerr, who was named player of the year by England’s Professional Footballers Association last week. A host of former Australian players were equally ecstatic, with Socceroos all-time top goalscorer Tim Cahill admitting there were “so many emotions”. “But the main thing is this team showed up when it counted. To all the staff and players, congratulations,” added the retired Cahill, who played in the last four World Cups. Former Aston Villa, Manchester United and Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich called it a deserved win while the Wallabies rugby union team simply said: “You little beauty!”. Luke Wiltshire, who played 80 times for Australia, told local television the result would go down in Australian football folklore. “People had written them off. They went the hard way, they turned up on the night and performed. We saw bravery and character,” he said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a staunch rugby league fan, also waded in, tweeting: “World Cup here we come.”