Patrick Yazbek and Jacob Italiano hope to take their chance in front of home fans
Patrick Yazbek and Jacob Italiano said they were excited to be in camp for the FIFA Series 2026™, and hope to take their chance to be selected for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Both were selected by Head Coach Tony Popovic off the back of impressive club form - Yazbek for Nashville in the MLS, and Italiano for Grazer AK in Austria.
They spoke about what's to come from the camp, and what they hoped to get out of the experience.
Club form coming into camp
Yazbek: It's been a good start to the season. We've had a lot of games and a lot of opportunity to kind of set a good impression across the league. And you know, top of the table is a nice feeling, and versing Messi twice again is always fun. Getting the better of him, finally, is a good feeling. The 5-0 win against Orlando was nice and I'm happy to contribute towards my team success. And then the focus shifts really quickly to the national team.
On a personal note, I'm very happy with the way things are going, and very proud of the team. But it's still a long season. Still lots to prove. With the World Cup coming, I'm just trying to play well at my club and put my best foot forward for those targets I'm trying to meet.
Italiano: It was obviously nice to come into camp off the back of that performance [scoring a hat-trick for his club]. I'd like to score more goals in my career up until this point, so it was nice that I managed to get three in the one game. We've hit a run of form now at a good time after the league's split and all the points got halved. Everything's looking looking up where we're at.
What it means to play for Australia
Italiano: It's every player's dream to play for the national team. I had to wait quite a while since I moved over to Europe. That was obviously the goal when I moved over, was to try and make my debut. I had to wait a bit longer than I would have hoped, with a few setbacks in there, but it made it worthwhile even more.
Taking chances
Italiano: It's obviously really unfortunate what happened to Lewis [Miller]. It's a part of football, sometimes, when injuries come. I've had my fair share of injuries as well. It's an opportunity for another player, and now I just want to put my best foot forward, keep my head down, work hard, and hopefully I can take the chance.
An injury can get you when you're feeling really good and on top, and maybe it is more of a learning curve. Maybe you stop doing some things that you could have done, because you feel like you're on top of the world, and nothing can get you. Obviously my my loading went a bit higher [after October camp, and before the injury]. It's all a different experience in the mind, and you're experiencing a lot of different things and it's something I've definitely learned from, and something I will learn from in the future.
Playing in front of home fans
Yazbek: The first thing is to enjoy it. Both of us live overseas, away from the country that we love, and to be able to represent Australia is the biggest honour. To be in Sydney, the place that I'm from, and then obviously go to Melbourne, that's the biggest opportunity I would get all year. So I'll enjoy it, but also put my best foot forward to the boss and show the country and show the staff that I deserve to be here and I deserve to be in the team, and just make myself and Australia proud.
Italiano: My family is going to fly over from Perth as well to watch the games, which is extra special. I haven't seen them for a little while, so that'll be nice. It is just about showing the boss, the fans, the team, that you belong here and that you're capable of doing a really good job for Australia, and showing what you can do.
MATCH DETAILS
CommBank Socceroos v Cameroon
Date: Friday, 27 March
Kick-off: 8.10pm AEDT
Venue: Accor Stadium
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets: Available on Ticketmaster
CommBank Socceroos v Curaçao
Date: Tuesday, 31 March
Kick-off: 8.10pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets: Available on Ticketek