For the first time since 2006, the Socceroos have begun the FIFA World Cup on a winning note, conjuring up a valiant, backs-against-the-wall boilover 2-0 result against Turkiye.

On his World Cup debut, 20 year-old Nestory Irankunda lived up to the immense hype which has tailed his already-young career, etching his name into Socceroos folklore with a well-taken solo goal to give Australia the lead.

And the ecstasy continued with less than 20 minutes to go when Connor Metcalfe stormed forward upon the affordance of acres of space before unleashing a vicious long-range shot which found the corner of the net.

Just a day after Turkiye captain Hakan Calhanoglu vowed his team would dominate Australia, his team did that — but in ball possession only.

And the thing about the Socceroos is they do not mind being backed into a corner and playing the role of underdogs, as Australia’s rope-a-dope ploy held them upright long enough to deliver not one, but two knockout blows.

Tony Popovic raised eyebrows and gave fans whiplash when he omitted captain Mat Ryan and vice-captain Jackson Irvine from the starting line-up — but his defensive tactics and structural organisation behind the ball thwarted Turkiye’s increasingly desperate advantage.

Australia’s back five were immense under wave after wave of pressure, with Alessandro Circati and Harry Souttar excellent in the air and on the ground as the Socceroos blocked a staggering 12 of Turkiye’s 30 shots.

And while the pre-game talk focused on Ryan and Irvine’s shock absence, two- cap goalkeeper Patrick Beach proved his worth with a string of importance saved, while inexperienced Paul Okon-Engstler threw himself around and provided the assist for Irankunda’s goal.

Victory also put the Socceroos in a commanding position to reach the knock-out stages, with the expanded round of 32 guaranteeing eight of the 12 third-placed finishers a ticket to the next round.

And with three points first up, Australia already have one foot in the next round — barring any disasters — ahead of Friday’s much-hyped meeting with co-hosts USA in Seattle.

Having already taken over the streets of Vancouver hours before kick-off, the estimated 15,000 Australian fans did themselves proud as a pre-game rendition of Men at Work’s Down Under filled the vast, indoor expanses of BC Place.

Not be outdone, the large contingent of Turkish fans matched them with their own roars of approval for star duo Calhanoglu and Arda Guler, their own national anthem could have raised the roof.

Unsurprisingly, Turkiye began the game on the front foot as Calhanoglu and Orkun Kokcu dictated tempo in the midfield, while Real Madrid star Guler drifted here, there and everywhere.

Guler had the first half-sight on goal, a curled effort which Beach watched over; the young goalkeeper’s ensuing goal-kick was hailed with boos from those drenched in red in the crowd.

Turkiye had 73 per cent of the ball in the opening 10 minutes, but Australia’s structure behind the ball was forcing them to resort to pot-shots, while the Socceroos were enterprising through Mo Toure and Metcalfe.

Australia slowly found their feet, even if the execution was still lacking. Aiden O’Neill’s pass sent Jacob Italiano down the right, but the wing-back’s dink was too heavy.

Then Jordan Bos retained the ball well in the face of pressure and flipped the ball to Circati, who in turn fed Toure down the channel and the forward won a corner.

Then, like a firecracker after the game’s first hydration break, the game ignited.

First, Guler’s volley was hit straight at Beach and on the ensuing counter-attack, Irankunda – who was guilty of being too hesitant early – seized his moment.

He raced onto Okon-Engstler’s clipped pass in behind, his pace leaving Ismail Celek training forlornly, before he nudged the ball across a covering Merih Demiral and coolly rolled the ball home.

18 seconds elapsed between Guler’s shot and Irankunda’s goal; the game suddenly tilted on its axis in the space of a few touches.

The danger of Turkiye remained evident, as a brush of Beach’s fingertips and the post were the only things which halted Abdlkerim Bardakci’s long-range tracer bullet two minutes later.

At one point, Turkiye had completed 240 passes to Australia’s 90, but their frustration was evident as another off-target Guler attempt drew a frustrated gesture from the attacker.

Every hurried Socceroos clearance was greeted by the Australian fans as if it was the 90th minute — even though there was still more than a half to play.

Up the other end, Irankunda had put the fear into his opponents, his veins brimming with confidence as he loomed ominously on the counter.

Still, Turkiye should have gone in level when Guler’s clever pass picked out Kerem Akturkoglu in the box and the forward rolled Circati – only for the prone centre-back to still somehow block the shot.

Italiano was one of Australia’s best in the opening 45, but soon had an entirely different challenge as Turkiye coach Vincenzo Montella threw on Juventus star Kenan Yildiz.

After an Australian break ended in Bos’s effort deflecting wide with Toure and Irankunda in promising positions, Yildiz’s gravitational pull up the other end resulted in Yuksek’s shot deflected off-target.

Deeper and deeper Australia retreated as the weight of possession was firmly in the Turks’ favour, Italiano best-epitomising Popovic’s ‘bend but don’t break’ mantra as the attack was filtered down his side and he was forced into never-ending games of iso-ball against Yildiz.

Turkiye’s best chance came from Zeki Celik’s thunderous drive at the near post which Beach palmed away — and three minutes later, Metcalfe scooped up a loose ball, strolled forward and his strike was pure.

The danger was not over, not nearly: Akturkoglu’s well-hit effort was once again dealt with by Beach, who then got his glove to a free-kick soon after.

But against a stoic Australia defence marshalled by Souttar, Circati and Cameron Burgess, Turkiye could find no way through.