Nominally, the FIFA World Cup 26™ cycle isn’t the first that Connor Metcalfe has experienced.
In fact, after making his CommBank Socceroos debut against Chinese Taipei back in 2021, he’ll head, pending selection, to next year’s tournament as one of the more experienced members of the squad – part of the side for close to a half-a-decade by that point, with well over 30 international appearances to his name, and, judging by his ubiquitous presence in Tony Popovic’s starting XIs since his return from injury back in May, as one of its key members.
But though it may not be his first on a technical level, it’s not unfair to say that the road to North America in 2026 marked the point where Metcalfe truly arrived on the international scene; a period in wherein he transitioned from being one of 48 players that made their international debuts under Graham Arnold, eager to prove his worth at this level, to being a tried-and-tested contributor on the global stage.
Named in Arnold’s squad that faced Ecuador in the first games following the Qatar World Cup, he began a run of 19 straight appearances in Green and Gold, including every match of the Asian Cup.
In June, just weeks after returning from a long-term injury, one that kept him out of the Socceroos for seven months, the 26-year-old was trusted to start in crucial qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia by Popovic, who had only seen him for the first-time in the ten-day Abu Dhabi-based training camp the side staged before that window and responded in kind – logging 80 minutes in the famous 1-0 win over the Samurai Blue in Perth before netting his first international goal in the Roos’ come-from-behind, qualification-sealing win over the Green Falcons in Jeddah.
“We've probably exposed Connor Metcalfe a lot more than any other player with a similar situation,” Popovic remarked on Thursday. “But he's a really robust young man, and he's been able to handle it really well.”
On a club level, he’s gone from being one of the shining, home-grown talents at Melbourne City in the A-League Men during this period to a regular contributor at the Bundesliga level. Moving to Hamburg-based St Pauli in 2022, he helped Der Kiezkicker achieve promotion to the German top-flight in 2004, and has featured in some form or another in every league fixture this season; a first league start of the campaign finally arriving in a 2-1 loss to Freiburg in the last game before the November international window.
“When you're at City, you go from a teenager to a young man,” Metcalfe reflected.
“But then, when I moved overseas, I had to really switch on, and I had to be a lot more professional.
“I had to stand my ground; fight for a spot. My mentality was like 'I'm not coming over here just to be nice and sit on the bench and this and that.' Every day was a fight, basically, and I needed to prove myself. That's the whole stigma with Aussies, is that, you know, when we go overseas and things like that, we don't just get handed a start -- we have to earn it and things like that, because we don't have the respect from these nations.
“But I think I've turned from a young man into a man, and it's done me wonders. I never would have thought I'd be in the Bundesliga. But I'm in the Bundesliga now, I'm in the Socceroos team every camp. It gives you bloody thick skin, that's for sure. So it's a good environment to be in.”
After surpassing expectations to start against Japan and the Saudis, Metcalfe has rattled off four more appearances in the first XI in the friendlies since, serving as a constant figure up top regardless of the other players being cycled through the line-up by Popovic as he tinkers and experiments with a variety of approaches heading into next year’s tournament.
With his appearances at the Millerntor-Stadion restricted to appearances off the bench, to that point, these fixtures also provided the added bonus of boosting the attacker both mentally and physically, ensuring that when he was added to Alexander Blessin’s starting unit, first for a DFB Pokal win over Hoffenheim and then against Freiburg in the league, he was ready.
“I think it's definitely helped me push my case forward,” Metcalfe said. “And it was keeping me, in a way, match fit, even though it was one month apart each time. It also kept my confidence up. Because if you don't start after a long time, you just sort of lose a bit of confidence, things like that.”
“But getting those starts, coming in and getting fully backed by the coach reminded me of my quality. The goal now is to, obviously, get two wins here [against Venezuela and Colombia] and then head back to the club and hopefully continue to be in that starting line-up.”
Of course, Metcalfe hasn’t just grown as a footballer across the past few years, either. Playing alongside Socceroos teammate Jackson Irvine in Germany, the attacker has grown in confidence over the years – coming a long way from the somewhat reserved, baby-faced youngster that was first breaking into the A-League Men under Warren Joyce, Erick Mombearts, and Patrick Kisnorbo – and developed something of an acerbic wit during his time in Europe – setting a cat amongst Saudi pigeons when he jokingly mused about potential skullduggery in the build-up to June’s qualifier – to say nothing of the tattoos and facial hair that have sprung up over the years.
Given St Pauli’s reputation, though, a club based in one of the world’s coolest cities in Hamburg and that has achieved worldwide fame for its combination of punk rock aesthetics, politically engaged supporters and commitment to activism, the addition of a sleeve tattoo and designer moustache probably shouldn’t be that shocking. Even if Metcalfe feels that Irvine serves as a much better poster-child for the club’s off-field style than he does. Unlike his teammate, Metcalfe laughs, he drives to training, rather than catching the Hamburg U-Bahn.
“I don't know if my personality really matches with the club’s, to be honest,” he grins.
“I think Jacko fits perfectly. But, yeah, I don't know, I'm just pretty chill, ayy? Like, it just doesn't bother me. You know what I mean? Like, it's pretty cool, all punk rock in that. I'm not punk rock one bit.
“I’m basic. Basic as. Short back and sides, that’s what we can call it.”
Punk rock or no punk rock, though, Metcalfe is appreciative of what he has in Germany – even if he’ll never quite wrap his head around the local ladenschlussgesetz laws that see most shops close on Sunday – and the support that the ‘Boys in Brown’ receive. Nor will the novelty of walking through the player’s tunnel at the Millerntor-Stadion – a hallway bathed in a dark red light, with the club’s skull and crossbones logo looming overhead – lining up in the race, and hearing the noise of 30,000 fans rising as one as Hells Bells by AC/DC welcomes the two sides onto the pitch.
“[St Pauli supporters] are probably the most supportive bunch of fans I've ever met or ever heard. It's actually insane, to be honest,” he said. “Like, at the moment, we're in a bad run, and we've lost seven in a row, but they still show up and they still clap after the game. And you tell me any other club in the world that would show up and clap after a game? Not many, let's be honest.
“It's a very special, special fan base. It's hard to describe, but they're if you just give them 100% they'll give you 100%.”
“Lining up next to the opponent and you're just looking out and there's just fans and flags and everything, and then you hear AC/DC come on… it just gives me goosebumps every time that song comes on.
“It's a pretty cool feeling, pretty cool. And then when you come on, they're doing the party poppers, like throwing bloody everything, and then flares are getting ripped. So nothing beats a home game. Friday night under the lights, nothing beats that.”
