Who would have thought that in a tournament that had Nutmeg the wombat as its official mascot, a nutmeg would end up the most crucial play.
Socceroo striker Tomi Juric, hemmed in on the byline, was having a hell of a time trying to get the ball past Korea Republic defender Kim Jin-su coming to the end of the first period of extra time in Saturday night's final.
Twice Juric went to ground but after getting up the second time - and with the pair fighting hard in a desperate bid to win the one-on-one duel - the Western Sydney Wanderers star dealt an ace.
Realising Kim's legs were apart Juric, facing the byline, side-heeled the ball between them with his right foot and set off around Kim, who was forced to let him go or risk conceding a penalty.
Watch the replay - it's fabulous stuff.
Juric then slotted the ball into the six-yard box in an apparent attempt to reach Jason Davidson, who had arrived in perfect position for a tap-in should the ball get to him.
Korea Republic goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon dived forward and got a touch but all that did was push the ball into the path of James Troisi, who calmly put it away for the winning goal.
Nutmeg must be proud.
What was Ange Postecoglou's best call of the tournament?
Massimo Luongo was in our 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup, but sat on the bench without getting a run in any of the games against Chile, Netherland and Spain.
Six months later, Postecoglou decided Luongo was a starter for the opening AFC Asian Cup game against Kuwait and the 22 year-old who plays in the third tier of English football - but surely not for much longer - didn't let the coach down.
In fact, Luongo repaid him a thousand times over, scoring a goal in the opener, another in the final and winning the award as player of the tournament. Superb.
One history-making coach pays tribute to another
Rale Rasic, the coach who took the Socceroos to the World Cup finals for the first time in 1974, has long been a good friend of and positive influence on Postecoglou.
Rasic, who was at Stadium Australia for the Asian Cup final, told ACRO of his delight in seeing Postecoglou become the first coach to take the Socceroos to this title.
"I send him a message of good wishes before every game," Rasic said. "Ange stuck by his principles and got his team right for this tournament. He got a lot of criticism about the results along the way, but he had one goal in mind and he has achieved that goal.
"I know Ange from his early days of playing youth team football at South Melbourne and he is a modest and dedicated man. He respects his country and he understands that when you're at the helm of a group of people wearing the green and gold it is a privilege to have that job.
"He was under pressure to deliver in this tournament and he has done that. He is to be congratulated and so are the people of Australia and our visitors for making this tournament such a great spectacle."
All in the family
to get an insight into what makes her son such a good player.
Now that the job is done and the Socceroos have won - and Ryan has picked up the award as goalkeeper of the tournament - how did she enjoy the night?
"It was pretty amazing," Carol said. "We were all a bit deflated after the other team scored so late in the game to force extra time but the boys kept going and found a way to get it done in the end.
"I got down to the fence and saw Mat after the game. I gave him a kiss and a hug and told him I loved him and was so proud of him.
"He's had an amazing six months since the World Cup. His experiences have made him a mentally and emotionally stronger person and winning a tournament like this is going to be great for his confidence and self-belief.
"He said he wanted to go back to Belgium with some silverware and he's going to do that now. And not just one trophy - two!"
The Twittersphere
Something Tim Cahill does religiously and so positively in his use of social media is advise kids that if you have an aim to make it in football, or any other pursuit, don't listen to people who say you're not going to achieve that goal.
He was at it again after Saturday night's win and long may he keep doing it.
