Cameron Burgess: The belief has always been there

Socceroos defender Cameron Burgess said that the belief has always been in the group that they could produce something special on the biggest stage in football.

He was speaking to media after starting and keeping a clean sheet in the team's 2-0 victory against Türkiye on Sunday (AEST).

Read what he had to say after the historic three points in game one of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ below.

Initial Thoughts

Still pretty tired, but [it feels] amazing. A nice moment with our families after the game, which was special to share in that moment. Seeing the pictures from after the game to soak it in a little bit, and then again on the bus with the boys - just enjoying the moment and taking it all in.

Working hard and going again

The focus already on that game [next, against USA], getting recovered now from the game just gone and being ready to go again. It will be a totally different game, different team, different things to work on - but then again, focusing on ourselves and what we can do to implement in the game.

It becomes a little bit easier with the group that we have, a really grounded group. We've always been like that. It's the Aussie way, I suppose, and it's just instilled in us. We take it one game at a time. We enjoy the moment with friends and family and teammates, and just focus on the next. Work hard, and go again.

A youthful squad

You look around and you have Beachy [Patrick Beach] behind me and Bossy [Jordan Bos] on my left, Pauly Okon [Jr] in front, and Nestor [Irankunda] in front of that on my left side. It's a young group. But look, the training we do here, and the belief they have themselves - they're ready to go, there's nothing they really need to lean on me for. I might there to do that [mentor], and I believe that's a big part of my role in the team to be the experienced one and to calm things down at times and be a voice as well, but those guys are on a good trajectory in their careers and they showed what they can do.

Excitement of World Cup debut

You find out when everybody else does it, the meeting before the game, when the boss does his meetings and his speech and things like that. How do you prepare? Just excitement. You've worked so hard to be here. It's been a year in the making, trying to do everything the right way to make sure you're selected first and foremost, and you get the fruits of your labour, I suppose, when it comes to game time. I'm so grateful to be out there with my teammates, and to get the win as well. It's just a special feeling.

It hit me when we went out to the pitch before the game, seeing my family there, that was a nice moment. The build up, being in the tunnel and coming out national anthems... it was a build up from seeing family to getting ready for the game, and right up until kickoff, really all little markers that I've been told about from the boys who have been at these occasions before, and just to take it all in and be ready for the game.

Recovery

Everything's laid out for us. There's plans for how we recover and be ready mentally. We're only here at training now, doing a recovery - whereas some games, if we played earlier, it might have been an early recovery, and things like that. It's all laid out for us to get the right rest we need. 

It is hard to switch off after a game, and such a big occasion and a big result. But look, we've got plenty of time to be ready for the next game, there's loads of training to do between now and then, and with the season I've had - especially playing every two or three days - this seems like a longer break than normal! We'll be ready, myself and all the boys as well.

Belief within the group

The belief has always been there. We've taken some pretty big learnings from the last two games, in terms of how you start the game, how you finish the game, in between the breaks, before and after, how to implement our game plan, and things like that. A big one is staying patient when other teams have the ball. We're playing against some top nations here, there's no getting away from that, and at periods of the game you have to suffer and stick together as a team. I think we showed that in abundance in the game and showed real maturity for what's obviously quite a young squad. Everything went to plan on that aspect, and there's more to build on.

Defensive unit

The bond goes beyond the back line. It's also the guys further forward, and even the guys who may not be in the pitch at that time as well. We train so hard together, we work on all that stuff. It's not a coincidence when we're in sync. It's not easy, but we put all that work in the training pitch, and whoever's selected to be out there, we expect that from each other. Ever since the coaching staff, the boss has come in, that's what sort of been instilled in us, and hopefully we've been able to show that as much as we can.

Upcoming game against USA

Every nation here has their own threats. We're playing against a host nation with some tremendous talent in their squad. We faced them only a few months ago. We're going to have to be ready for what they can bring, and the same goes for them. They're going to have to be ready for what we can bring, so it's going to be a hard-fought game. Both teams coming off a win as well. We're ready to go to battle, and I'm sure they'll be the exact same. It's going to be a pretty big spectacle, hopefully.

I'm not really one for talking, I've always been that away. I don't really listen to much that goes on, to be honest. I just want to play the game. I'm looking forward to it not because of anything that's been said or not being said, more just because I'm here sitting at a World Cup, and want to show everything I've gotten and do what I can for the team. That's enough motivation for me. I don't need anything else.

They're going to come aggressive and front foot, and we learned that from when we played them before. We've got a good few days now to analyse it and be ready for what they've got coming, as we did with Türkiye. We analysed them as much as we could, and we were well versed on what their strengths were, on and off the ball. It's obviously a credit to the coaching staff, the analysts, to give us all the detail we can possibly get, and for the boys to take it all in, and then go out in the pitch and implement it. We know that the game will be different in terms of how the US play and press, and it's up to us to be ready.

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