Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Socceroos defender Milos Degenek has declared he still has “a lot of football to play” after being selected for FIFA World Cup duty for a third time.
Degenek, 32, was part of Australia’s World Cup squads in 2018 and 2022 but was no certainty to be part of the Socceroos’ contingent for the upcoming global football extravaganza in the US, Mexico and Canada following the emergence of a few younger centre-backs, including teenager Lucas Herrington.
However, Cyprus-based Degenek got the nod from Socceroos coach Tony Popovic and will be part of a defensive unit that includes, among others, Herrington, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Kai Trewin and Jason Geria.
“It’s my third (World Cup), and I’m still in awe of everything,” Degenek said.
“As you get older, it doesn’t become easier – it gets a bit harder.
“I don’t think I’m old, I’m still young in my eyes. I’ve still got a lot of football to play, but it’s beautiful to see the young boys here, some of the boys who are very young and at their first World Cup, and to see their expression and their faces when they arrived here.
“My first World Cup in Russia was the most unbelievable experience. My dreams came true.
“It’s a long process. As a kid, you dream of just playing football.”
Among the Socceroos’ World Cup first-timers is Jacob Italiano, a 24-year-old wing-back who plays his club football for Austrian outfit Grazer AK.
“It’s every kid’s dream (to play at a World Cup),” Perth product Italiano said.
“As soon as we qualified it was the goal to make the squad, so it’s been a long fight, a long battle, but we’re here finally and it’s really exciting.
“We’ve put in a lot of work in the past few weeks in camp. We’ve got that in the back pocket now.”
The Socceroos meet Switzerland on Sunday (AEST) in San Diego in their final warm-up match ahead of their opening Group D World Cup clash against Turkiye in Vancouver on June 14 (AEST).
“We still have a lot of things to improve on, a lot of things that we can strengthen,” Italiano said.
“Right now, it’s just preparing for that (game against Switzerland). You want to perform and do your best to hopefully get a start in the opening match (against Turkiye).”
