A few minutes after Yengi missed an open goal, Pompey were awarded a penalty against Burton and the Australian forward stepped up to place the ball on the spot.
Portsmouth were flying at the top of England's League One but they could ill-afford a slip-up, else they would be hauled back into the logjam of teams relying on the play-off spots vying for promotion to the Championship.Â
The conventional thing was to play it safe: blast it into the corner, get your team 1-0 up and if the goalkeeper saves it then such is life.Â
But Yengi doesn't do conventional.
He takes a different approach, running in to take his penalty, he stutters, allows Burton goalkeeper Max Crocombe to dive one way, and dinks the ball down the middle with a sweetly-struck panenka.Â
"I'm a pretty confident lad," Yengi told AAP with a nonchalant shrug. "I knew it would come off."
🧊 Ice cold Kusini Yengi...— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) 😮�💨 A #Pompey Panenka to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/YnLCd7G25OMarch 13, 2024
In the third tier of English football, panenkas are a rarity but Australian followers of Yengi's career will know from his time in the A-League he doesn't mind being a showman.Â
While at Adelaide he celebrated a goal against Melbourne Victory with a Connor McGregor strut and in a derby playing for the Wanderers he took off his shirt and raised it to Sydney FC fans so they could see the name on the back.
With four Australia caps to his name and emboldened by cameos at the Asian Cup, Yengi looms as the Socceroos' future as they look towards the 2026 World Cup, starting with Thursday's qualifier against Lebanon at CommBank Stadium.Â
"When you play games and there's a lot more people in the crowd, I get that feeling of wanting to be the hero," the 25-year-old said.Â
"That motivates me to perform in big games.
"That was something I thought about before I was even involved with the Socceroos, being that star player and that starting striker and I got a taste of that at the Asian Cup.
"Especially over these next two games, I'll hopefully play more minutes, score more goals and prove to the coaches and to Australian football that I can be that guy and that I am that guy."
On paper, Yengi's words may come across as brash but they are spoken with a politeness and sincerity that is reflective of his upbringing.
Football is a comfortable way out for Kusini Yengi who has had a tough upbringing. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
Yengi's father, Ben Yengi OAM, is a South Sudanese refugee who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of those in his homeland.
In 2008, Kusini, his mother Emma and younger brother Tete, who is starring for Livingston in the Scottish top flight, left the comforts of Adelaide to live in Ben's village.
"When we first went over there we were living in a mud hut because the houses hadn't been built yet and they didn't have running water," Yengi said.Â
"While we were there we built a brick house with a roof.
"But I definitely took a lot out of being over there and seeing how people lived really opened my eyes and how you can't take anything for granted.
"As I've got older, I've learned a lot and it changed my perspective on life and even on football - if something doesn't go my way (on the pitch), it's not the end of the world.
"There are people that are in much worse situations than me."
Yengi intends to travel to South Sudan for the first time in 10 years when his club commitments are completed with Portsmouth.
Just seven games remain to get Pompey, who sit five points clear at the top of League One, back into the Championship for the first time in over a decade.
"I will hopefully be able to look forward to getting promotion to the Championship with Portsmouth," Yengi said.
"I believe in myself and I believe that playing in the Premier League with Portsmouth is achievable.
"I'd love to reach that level and having been over there I've adapted to the style and it's a style that suits me.
"With more games and more minute, I'll get better and hopefully I'll be able to reach new heights."Â
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