David Afonso tells tale of trip to FIFA World Cup

But for David Afonso, no screens were necessary - he was practically on the pitch.

The border local was front and centre throughout Australia's mesmeric journey into the round of 16 as part of the family and friends group.

The opportunity came through invitation from Socceroos star Craig Goodwin, who Afonso has known for more than a decade, and all it took was nine minutes for the enormity of the occasion to land.

Moments into Australia's opening game against France, Goodwin ghosted in at the back post to arrow in a shock goal against Les Bleus, catching fans back home, in the stands, and most of all Afonso, completely off guard.

"We'd just settled into our seats and were taking in all the emotions of the world cup in the first game," Afonso said.

"With the friends and family group, we were sat behind the bench so we could pretty much hear everything Arnie (Socceroos coach Graham Arnold) was saying.

"When he scored, I had Craig's dad on one side and his fiancée on the other, and it was almost like it came as a surprise.

"It actually happened in slow motion, you could sort of see it about to unfold.

"All of a sudden he'd put it in to the roof of the net, and you're just trying to process it."

Through his invite by Football Federation Australia and the Green and Gold Army to the Socceroos' inner circle, Afonso's connection to the team extended beyond just watching the games.

He joined the playing group during meal times, living and breathing the journey alongside the 26 men who reignited the passion for the round ball game back home.

And when game time came around, the red carpet was rolled out.

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"The pre-match functions were next level; we'd go to rooftop bars and different high end bars for food and drink," Afonso said.

"They'd bring out a big cake with the Australian flag on it and all that sort of stuff, so it was really well organised.

"It was brilliant to be in the inner circle with all the family and close friends."

In between watching Goodwin tear strips off defenders on the biggest stage of them all, Afonso was able to sneak away to catch other stars in action, some with slightly bigger price tags than his mate.

Sitting a literal stones throw away from Lionel Messi, the man whose left peg could knit a sweater, and Cristiano Ronaldo, football's perennial poster boy, was hard to put into words for the border local.

"For Messi and Ronaldo, this will be their last World Cup so to see them perform live, I'll always be able to say I've seen two of the greatest of all time...in seats where you're only metres away," he said.

"In Australia, we rely on those stars to come to Melbourne but even then, we're at the likes of the MCG where you can hardly see them.

"To see these guys in person, you pinch yourself a little bit because since I was a young kid, I've only ever known football at a world standard to be on the TV.

"I put in request for Portugal games as my parents are Portuguese and that's my heritage.

"I must give credit to the FFA guys who were organising the tickets for us family and friends if we wanted to go to games."

The noise surrounding Qatar's hosting right in the lead up to the World Cup was deafening, with many believing strict cultural policy at the tournament would detract from the occasion.

However, Afonso said his experience was anything but hostile.

"Qatar is a really nice place, the people were really welcoming," he said.

"You read a lot of things in the western media sometimes - I must admit before I went, I read it and thought 'is that what it's like?'.

"I paid an Uber driver to drive me around Qatar for about six hours to just show me everything, and it was just astonishing to see what they've done over there, I couldn't have had a better experience.

"The best part was it was all in one area - you could go to all the stadiums and all the games - so it was pretty much like having the World Cup in Melbourne.

"Where we were, the furthest stadium was like going from Wodonga to Springhurst away.

"There was also a lot of fuss about no alcohol in the stadiums, but you could get a drink at a lot of places before or after the games.

"Upon reflection, you come back and think 'you're at a World Cup where there's Ronaldo, Messi and your good friend playing, do you really want to be steaming?."

"Overall, it was a brilliant experience."

From bumping into global superstars of Bruno Fernandes' calibre at the mall to being parked directly behind the Socceroos' bench at games, Afonso's trip was littered with 'pinch me' moments.

But one reigned over all.

Being in Doha to follow Goodwin's escapades, 12 years on from his first dealings with Adelaide United's front man was a treasured memory for Afonso, one which is unlikely to ever dissipate.

"I remember when Craig was in Melbourne working at KFC, battling away to make ends meet and all of a sudden he's on the world stage matching it with the best in the world," he said.

"I helped him out when he was at Melbourne Heart youth, we even discussed his first contract when he was going to Newcastle Jets.

"He even came up and trained at Murray United a few years ago.

"All of a sudden he's on the park with (Antoine) Griezmann, (Kylian) Mbappe, (Hugo) Lloris - a France squad which is assembled full of stars and he's put the Aussies up one nil.

"He's worked very hard for it and deserved it, to score against France in the opener is probably a dream for him, but even for us as close friends.

"I won't forget that for a long time, just the feeling and the elation after it."

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