CommBank Socceroos react to the World Cup draw
The CommBank Socceroos learned their opponents for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ this week, and - just like the rest of the nation - the players watched the World Cup Draw with bated breath.
Milos Degenek, Cameron Burgess, Martin Boyle, Riley McGree and Jackson Irvine recounted their experience of the draw, and relayed their excitement as the team prepares to take on USA, Paraguay, and the winner of UEFA Play-off C.
Watching the Draw
Milos Degenek (MD): I was watching it live, at home with my family. I had some friends over because it was a really exciting time - it's a once every four year type of thing. It was a really exciting night for us.
Cameron Burgess (CB): I was proper excited to see it. It’s obviously my first time to watch a draw with a bit of investment in that type of thing. The excitement begins of like, okay, now it's time to knuckle down and try and get yourself in the squad as well. I whacked it on YouTube and had it in the kitchen area where they're playing football with the boys, and keeping an eye on it in the background until the draw actually started.
Martin Boyle (MB): I watched it around my dinner table with the family. I watched it with the kids who were causing carnage, so I didn't really get a chance to watch it… It took its time but when it got rolling it was not too bad.
Riley McGree (RM): I watched the draw. We were on the way to a game actually, and we were on the bus and there was a bit of traffic, so we were delayed and we had the opportunity to watch it all.
Facing the host nation USA
Jackson Irvine (JI): I was actually kind of hoping that it would happen. I know the hype around those games is going to be enormous. So especially playing the US, and seeing some of their reactions in their media to facing us, having beaten us in recent games - I'm expecting that to be a fiery encounter again.
CB: I was buzzing, to be fair. It's a host nation. The crowd's going to be unbelievable. The atmosphere is going to be crazy. What a way to experience a World Cup, really. So to have the host is a pretty cool moment. There's going to be some buzz. Hopefully we can change the result around this time and make sure we do one better and go and get a good result.
MB: Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) pulling out the ball... That wasn't on the bingo card!
RM: I think it's great to come up against a host nation, you're going to be in a stadium that's sold out. The atmosphere is going to be great. We've played them recently. I wasn't involved, but I watched. And I think it was a really good game, and a competitive game. And I think one that we have the potential to win. We're going to go in there and whatever the situation, the hostility, we're going to go there for the win and take three points. It'll be competitive and exciting, that's for sure.
Facing Paraguay
MD: They've always been a very good nation, a footballing nation and a nation that's done well at World Cups. I'm really excited and looking forward to it. I'm expecting a very, very difficult, intense matchup, and very, very intense, full of heart and passion. I'm expecting a lot of their fans to be in the stadiums and I'm expecting a lot of Aussies to be around as well at the time.
CB: I've actually played with one of the Paragraph players, Julio Enciso, when I was at Ipswich. He's a talent and he's definitely a big player for them.
RM: It's extremely competitive. There's no real on paper standout team that you would expect to run away with it, like we potentially have had in the past.
MB: The South American teams, the intensity that they bring, the passion, the fans, the style of play - it's really good, it's really energetic. We know they're hard teams to play against, all very strong - they may look small on paper, but they're all very, very strong and technical.
JI: Paraguay had a really strong qualifying campaign through South America. I know they beat Argentina and Brazil on their on the way to qualification, so expecting a really tough game against them as well.
The third game against either Turkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo
MD: Whoever we get, we're going to be well prepared for it. Whoever does come through, it's going to make the group even better and more exciting.
CB: It's probably a group where all the teams probably think they can do something special.
MB: it's certainly a game that we all have an eye on. They'll all be tricky opponents. I don't have a particular team that I want to win.
Competing on the West Coast, and overall thoughts
JI: For vibes, crowds, for the stadiums, I think the West Coast is a top location.
MD: I think we're going to do a fantastic job and create a memorable experience, because we're not gonna go into those games and be like: we're the underdog. No, we're going into games thinking that we should be winning games. We should be winning every game. We should be looking to win every game and that winning mentality will be there for sure.
CB: I'm looking forward to the stadiums - some big stadiums, some cool places to play. So from an excitement point of view and just the stadiums alone, that's pretty cool. The guys will be leaving no stone unturned in terms of where base camp is going to be and logistics and all that sort of stuff that the FA do so well for all our games... Exciting times ahead and some cool places to play.
MB: There's been a lot of talking, so we'll just save it for the World Cup and hopefully we get a result.
RM: People in the past have looked down on us, and I think they should start taking us a bit more seriously. Especially after the games in which we've won, where we are in the standings in the world and what we've done at previous World Cups, and the teams we've competed against. At the end of the day, it's about going out there and proving what we can do - and that'll be our main goal.
FIFA World Cup 26™ Tickets - What Happens Next?
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