An ex-refugee who campaigns for mental health issues is firing Australia's campaign at the Asian Cup -- and may yet lead his adopted nation to their greatest football triumph.
Far from the average footballer, Awer Mabil spent his childhood in a mud hut as a refugee from conflict in Sudan, but after moving to Australia he has risen to become one of the country's most important players.
Mabil, 23, scored on his Socceroos debut in October and he has already bagged two goals in three games at the Asian Cup in UAE, including a glorious, curling strike with his weaker left foot in the 3-2 win over Syria.
He greeted that goal, as always, with a distinctive celebration of his own invention -- covering his mouth with one hand, with two fingers from the other hand pointing at his forehead, signifying the need to open up about mental problems.
"It's for people suffering from mental problems or depression. It's trying to create awareness for them and bring peace to their mind," Mabil told AFP.
"They need to be open and realise that there's people out there that care for them. A lot of people are going through a tough time but it's all in the mind, so you just need to talk to people and open up to someone."
- 'Thanks Mum' -
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"People suffer from being alone -- you can have all the things in the world but if you don't have peace of mind, what's the point?"
"If I can represent the people at an international level, I will do that. And that's what I do for my celebration, for all the people."
"A lot comes down to how she's raised us and big credit to her -- everything that I have is because of her."
- Mud hut to Asian Cup -
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"It makes it easier for people to settle and I feel that I belong in this kind of family and it's easy to thrive in this kind of environment."