“I’m hoping that we’ve inspired the next generation coming through that it’s possible to match the best in the world,even being Australian.
“It puts the A-League on the map as well:we had a fair few boys from the A-League in there as well. This is the perfect moment for Australian football to step forward and make sure that the sport gets more recognised back at home.”
Melbourne’s Federation Square was the place to be during the World Cup.Credit:The Age
Craig Goodwin -who scored against France and whose shot yielded the own goal that gave the Socceroos a hint of hope in the second half against Argentina - is one of eight A-League players from the squad who will return to their domestic clubs as the competition resumes next weekend.
The local game has long grappled with an inferiority complex,but Goodwin said what they’ve achieved in Qatar,with a group of largely unheralded players,should destroy it once and for all,and reinforces the team’s internal view that Australia is capable of genuinely competing with the world’s top football nations - not 10,20 or even 50 years in the future,but right now.
“We hope that what we’ve achieved here can can help grow the game back home,because the A-League is better than then its perceived. The quality of Australian football is better than its perceived,and I think it’s been that way for a long time,” the Adelaide United winger said.
“Hopefully,what we’ve been able to achieve here can put the Australian football on the map and help the game grow. Thank you to the Australian public,and I guess the message to them is get out and see the Socceroos players that are playing in the A-League.
“Support your local teams and embrace Australian football,and help it grow ... it’s about building on what we’ve done here,and not just as this playing group,but as a nation as well,to give Australian footballers,boys and girls,the platform to perform on the biggest stage in the world,and to be able to give those players what they need to match it with the best.”
There is reason to be highly optimistic about what the Socceroos’ future could look like,given the exciting generation of young players coming through the ranks of the national team and below.
Harry Souttar,easily the team’s best performer in Qatar,is still only 24 and has forced a centre-back partnership with Kye Rowles,also 24,which could be the backbone of Australia’s next two World Cup cycles.
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Garang Kuol,the 18-year-old dynamo who will join Newcastle United in the English Premier League next month,almost scored the leveller against Argentina deep in injury time,and seems destined for superstardom - while Keanu Baccus,the former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder who now plays for St Mirren in Scotland,had Messi’s measure for much of the match,dispossessing the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner on multiple occasions.
“It’s a great feeling,playing it’s the best in the world and[knowing] you can do well,” Baccus said.
“The bar’s really close,and I know what I’ve got to do when I go home - work hard,improve and get better as a player. It’s been a great experience. I definitely know that we can go toe-to-toe with these guys as well,so it’s good for us as a country as well.”