Veteran Socceroo up for World Cup fight
Anna Harrington |
Martin Boyle is done with experiencing the World Cup from the sidelines.
But with injured players returning and ambitious youngsters waiting in the wings, he will have to fight for his dream of taking the field on football’s grandest stage.
Boyle was famously ruled out two days before the Qatar World Cup, requiring a full reconstruction of his right knee.
The popular winger was the Socceroos’ vibes manager on crutches as they went on a barnstorming run to the round of 16.
But after helping Australia seal automatic qualification to next year’s World Cup finals, Boyle, 32, wants more.
“I’m glad I got to experience it, I still had them special memories of being selected and being part of the qualifying campaign,” Boyle told AAP.
“But to physically play and do your best and help the team is something that I’m really hungry to do.
“Obviously, I’m not getting any younger. This could be my last chance, so I really need to keep working hard at club level, keep scoring goals and assists and try to get better.
“Obviously, it’ll be in the back of my mind that I want to play at the World Cup. But it’s not a given.
“You have to earn the right to be there, and the competition for places is really difficult at the moment. So as long as I keep performing, then hopefully I can make it.”
Jackson Irvine, Harry Souttar, Mathew Leckie, Craig Goodwin, Nishan Velupillay and Nestory Irankunda are among those who didn’t feature against Japan and Saudi Arabia and will be pushing their cases.
“The boss has made that clear that he wants people performing and being at their best every camp,” Boyle said.
“So it will be difficult. We’ve had a lot of boys missing. It’s great competition.”
Boyle, who has triggered another year at Scottish club Hibernian, had to fight his way into Tony Popovic’s plans, after falling out of favour early.
“I came back swinging – not physically swinging, because he would knock me out,” Boyle said of towering boss Popovic with a laugh.
“But it was quite difficult. I just came back from my wrist surgery, and I didn’t feel like I was fully up to speed, and maybe that was a kick up the backside of ‘I’m really in for a fight for my position’.
“I went back to my club level, and I was hungry, I was motivated. The results we were getting there at club level really spurred me on and pushed me on.
“I’ve started the last four (games), which has been brilliant.”
While Boyle fondly remembers Australia’s dramatic win over Peru on penalties four years ago, he is delighted to have the Socceroos’ World Cup berth locked in a year out.
Popovic can use international windows in September, October, November, March and June to prepare.
“It’s a great feeling, we don’t have that stress. We don’t have that in the back of our minds,” Boyle said.
“We can fully prepare for a full year.
“I am not entirely sure what the games will be like, but I presume we’ll have some good ties, and hopefully we can have a few ties over in the US and stuff like that.
“But it’s definitely a relief. We’re all on cloud nine at the moment.”
AAP
