Okon: We’re eight games unbeaten and winning breeds the type of culture we’re looking for
CommBank Socceroos Assistant Coach Paul Okon said that he was looking forward to the window ahead of two games against New Zealand this month.
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He said that these games provided the perfect opportunity to take a look at some younger players, with four windows until the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
He also touched on what the youngsters will bring to the squad and how the team will continue to build with 2026 in mind.
Being back in camp
It's always good to be back in camp, especially after a great window in June where we secured direct qualification to the next FIFA World Cup. So I’m excited. I’ll be even more excited once everyone arrives. There were no problems overnight, and everyone's fit and healthy. So I’m really looking forward to what lies ahead in this window.
Fresh faces
We have four important windows before the World Cup. It was always in the plans to try and have a look at fresh faces. When was that going to happen? We weren't actually sure, so this presented a perfect opportunity to do that. All the boys that we have been tracking for 10 months now, all deserve to be here. We're really looking forward to having a look at them, and seeing what they bring to international football.
Approach to the window
It's just about improving. We’re eight games unbeaten, and maybe that's not the most important thing, but winning breeds that type of culture that we’re looking for. New Zealand is a good opposition. They’ve also qualified for the World Cup. So yes, they’re friendly games on paper. There are no points at the end of it. But for us, they mean a lot.
They mean a lot because it gives us the opportunity to look at many players, to build on depth. It's going to be a long season. At certain times throughout the window, we may be missing people for whatever reason, and it's important for us to then be able to say: 'okay, he can step in and do a job for us'. But at the same time, we want to keep winning.
Expectations of the opposition
When we found out we were going to play New Zealand, that's the first thing that came to our mind - we want competitive games, even if it's a friendly. We know that New Zealand will give us that.
Youthful enthusiasm
When you pick young players, they bring with them that enthusiasm, and that's exactly what we're expecting. Some of the young ones have already been through the youth national teams. They should know a little bit of what's expected. Of course, international football is a bit of a different beast. A few of them have had very good starts to the season. They get their opportunity, they get a reward for what they're doing with their clubs, and hopefully they can bring that with them into this window.
Ultimate goal for the window
It's a friendly, because there's no points at the end of it. If you win or lose, it doesn't prevent you from going to the World Cup. There's no table. But for us, it's about building depth, working on our playing style, improving as a team and continuing to go undefeated. That's what we're looking to do.