Just under 12,000km separate Australia and Kazan, but an estimated 10,000 Socceroos fans turned the Russian city into a fortress against France on Saturday.
While they came close to seeing an upset only for the French to sneak away with a controversial 2-1 win, the Aussie fans have left some impression.
France's Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba admitting post-match that he felt like the game was a home one for the Socceroos.
"It was intense," Pogba said.
"The Australian fans were shouting, they were even booing our players so we felt like we were playing in Australia."
Pogba struck the winning goal against Australia with his effort passing the goal-line by a matter of centimetres.
It added to France's earlier fortune when they were awarded the first ever World Cup penalty by VAR - a controversial decision to say the least.
While sheepish in victory, Pogba made a special note to praise a Socceroos side who were widely dismissed heading into the game.
"I guess we were lucky, but we create luck," he said.
"You can see today they (Australia) play very well, defend very well, they play altogether.
"That is not a small team."
Australia will play Denmark next in their now up-hill battle to escape Group C, while France will take on Peru.