Alex Badolato says Young Socceroos motivated to build on Asian Cup success at the World Cup
One of the key members from the AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2025™ winning squad back in March, Alex Badolato admits the team is determined to leave their mark at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™.
The CommBank Socceroos qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2013 after their historic performance in China earlier this year and the Newcastle Jets attacking midfielder is confident they can showcase their ability on an even bigger stage.
Badolato was awarded the Most Valuable Player at the competition in China for his brilliant displays, but says it will take a team effort to deliver success rather than relying on individuals.
The FIFA U20 World Cup Chile 2025™, scheduled from 27 September to 19 October, features 24 teams from across the globe, with the CommBank Young Socceroos sealing their place in the 24th edition of the bi-annual tournament courtesy of their history-making victory in China.
The squad will be cut to 21 players before Australia begin their FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign against European heavyweights, Italy at the Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander in Valparaíso on Monday, 29 September at 6am AEST.
Their Group D schedule will see the CommBank Young Socceroos stay in Valparaíso to tackle their second opponents, Argentina, on Thursday, 2 October (AEST) before travelling to Santiago to end the group phase against Cuba on Sunday, 5 October (AEDT) at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos.
Read on about what he had to say.
Reflections on the Asian Cup Quarter final against Iraq to clinch World Cup qualification
Still looking back on that Iraq game, I think we still all get chills like all the boys put so much into that game, into that whole tournament, and to see the video come out the other day, it brought up all those old feelings again, and now just leave us even more motivated to do it again on the world stage.
Ambitions for the tournament
I think this is a really, really special group, a really talented set of players in every single position. I think we're going to be as ambitious as possible. We're not there to make up any numbers at all. We're going to go take it to some of the biggest teams in the world and be really ambitious.
Reaction to the draw
I think everyone was really excited, really happy. I think you go to a World Cup to play against the best teams, and teams like Italy, Argentina, Cuba, they're all big nations, and we're going to take it to them and show them what we're about.
Offseason move to Newcastle Jets
Obviously, moving to Newcastle, has been amazing since day one. We've had an unbelievable Australia cup run so far, and I'm sure the boys will get the job done while I'm away. But playing minutes in the Australia cup, competitive games against A-League and NPL opposition, it's been invaluable for my preparation for this tournament. It leaves me in good confidence and good form going into the first game of the tournament.
Hoping to have another impactful tournament
The Asian Cup went really well (Alex Badolato was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament). I had a strong season with (Melbourne) Victory last year, and then started really well with Newcastle. So I want to continue that, and obviously help push Australia as far as we can go, because I think that's the main goal, the whole squad together. I don't think it's about one or two players. Think it's more going to be a whole squad push, but I'll definitely try and do my part with goals and assists and hopefully helps push us forward.
A tight-knit group
One of the big things about that is we've been sort of preparing for this World Cup for the best part of two years now. We've been in so many different countries and so many different camps in different scenarios, both on and off the field, and we sort of really come together over the two years, and that's going to hold us in good stead, because it's almost like every time we go three, four months without seeing each other, when we see each other, it's like we just saw each other yesterday. So it's really, really positive and really exciting for the group.
Previous camps in South America will prove beneficial
Football Australia has organised some camps in South America for us before, so they've been really, really important for us. We're going to sort of draw on all that experience, we've been against Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and all that experience of the weather conditions, the style of football, the conditions outside the field, like all that's going to help us in this World Cup, and I'm sure we'll all be drawing on that experience
MATCH SCHEDULE | FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP CHILE 2025™
Italy v Australia
Date: Sunday, 28 September 2025 / Monday, 29 September 2025 (AUS)
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 6.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile
Argentina v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 1 October 2025 / Thursday, 2 October 2025 (AUS)
Time: 8.00pm (local) / 9.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile
Australia v Cuba
Date: Saturday, 4 October 2025 / Sunday, 5 October 2025 (AUS)
Time: 8.00pm (local) / 10.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile