Subway Young Socceroos defender Sebastian Esposito spoke to Football Australia Media ahead of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup China 2025™ kicking off on Wednesday.
The imposing defender opened up about preparing to face Kyrgyz Republic, Trevor Morgan's key messages to the group and plying his trade in the youth ranks of Serie A side Lecce.
Esposito, 19, has been an integral fixture at the back for the Subway Young Socceroos and reiterated the importance of beginning the tournament on the front foot, not looking too far ahead, while talking about his primary attributes as he aims to help the team experience success in China.
Read on to see what the centre-back had to say in our interview.
Settling into camp
It's been really good. It's been good to reconnect with some of the boys that I have met over my journey with the with the national team, a few new boys as well. So it's been good to get to know them and it's been very comfortable to come back. The staff makes me feel welcome as always.
Facing Kyrgyz Republic
We know our plan. We know what we want to do. We know what we need to do to get the best result. We're very focused on ourselves and how we're going to play football. We've developed a brand of football and a style of football over our journey together, starting in Portugal (in June 2023), so everyone's aware of everything we need to do, and we're just trying to work together and stick together and reach our goals.
Emphasis on starting strongly
I think we need to start really strong. It's important in these tournaments that we get maximal points as early as possible, because we know later on it becomes harder and we face probably more difficult opponents, but we need to maximise the opportunities to get points and to maximise goal difference. So the game is going to be on our terms, it's whether we can punish them or not.
Taking it one game at a time
We spoke about this in Portugal. I mean it'd be false to say that we don't think about it [qualifying for FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™]. But again, if we look too far ahead into the future, we overlook the short term, then maybe we get ahead of ourselves too much. So for us, it's more about managing the controllables and maximising the short term to end up reaching our goals in the long term.
Regular playing time at Lecce U20s breeds confidence
I have a lot of confidence in my body, especially playing two or three games a week for the last maybe two or three months. I was very lucky, as soon as I got there, I was playing 90 minutes consistently every week, and having that experience and the knowledge that I can back up every few days and have that confidence, it's the best thing coming into a tournament where we know that recovery time and days off is short, so just being able to back up and have consistent performances constantly is important.
Key messages from Trevor Morgan
Trevor's a very positive manager. We've been saying it since day one. We always want to play forward-thinking [football], so every action is to go forward and be positive. We kind of developed that from Portugal through to Marbella. I know the boys went on some other camps here around Asia. So Trevor's very much instilling in us a positive mindset, and to try to play on the front foot, rather than let teams come to us, we go and take the game to them. So that's the main idea behind our playing style.
Providing an aerial presence on set pieces
I love getting up the pitch and trying to attack. I think every centre-back does, but it’s my job to kind of make the most out of set pieces, especially in tournaments, they can be the decisive moments. So it'll be very good to get up and try score a few more.
Playing style and main traits
My abilities have always been playing with the ball. My passing range is probably the strongest point of my game. My ability to break lines is kind of what I thrive off and what brings me confidence into the game. But since coming to Italy and learning the defensive mindset that they have there, it's been very good for my confidence. I enjoy defending putting in a big tackle and winning my duels.
Learning the art of defending in Italy
When I was growing up, it was always very much, especially the modern footballer, the modern centre half is a lot on the ball and being able to break lines and play the game that I sort of developed when I was young. But going to Italy, it's definitely shifted my mindset and made me enjoy defending a lot more. For them, defending is like attacking, like a big tackle, is the same as creating a big chance. So I feel like I appreciate data defending a lot more. I'm really looking forward to showing that in the tournament.
An inspiration growing up
I mean, the obvious one for me is Virgil van Dijk. Even though I support Manchester United, he's just a machine. The way he goes into duels and his ability on the ball. It looks like he's playing in slow motion. So for me to dominate like him, or to make the game look as easy as him, is a dream.
All matches involving Australia will be broadcast live, exclusive and free on 10 Play.
Match Schedule
Subway Young Socceroos v Kyrgyz Republic
Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Bao’an Sports Centre Stadium, Shenzhen
Kick-off: 5.15pm Local / 8.15pm AEDT
Qatar v Subway Young Socceroos
Saturday, 15 February 2025
Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base Centre Stadium, Shenzhen
Kick-off: 5.15pm Local / 8.15pm AEDT
China PR v Subway Young Socceroos
Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Bao’an Sports Centre Stadium, Shenzhen
Kick-off: 7.30pm Local / 10.30pm AEDT