Stamatelopoulos' 'incredible feeling' after earning debut for the Subway Socceroos

Lewis Wiseman \\ Photo Credit: Aleksandar Jason/Socceroos 1718247627,1718247628

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos became Subway Socceroo #644 in the side's win over Palestine in Perth, introduced for his debut as a substitute.

Speaking after the victory, Stamatelopoulos expressed how happy he was to represent his country.

“An incredible feeling to represent the country that I was born in and grew up in and I’m extremely proud,” he said.

“The intensity was definitely there, just happy really, that's the only way that I can describe it - happy and proud.”

And his family were able to get along to the game which made the moment even more special.

“My wife was down with her family and my old man and my two siblings,” he said.

My old man didn't want to come too close; I think he didn't want to shed any tears in front of people, but yeah, my wife was extremely proud.

The only issue he had with his debut was that it was over too quickly.

“It was the quickest 30 minutes of my life. It's like I came on and then it was finished, but it was it was great, great feeling,” he said.

Within this Socceroos squad is a large cohort from South Australia, a fact which has made it seamless to settle in for fellow Adelaide native Stamatelopoulos.

“It's made it a lot easier for me, but I mean all the boys that aren't from South Australia are top guys as well, it’s just a very great culture here and something that I wish to be a part of in the future,” he said.

Looking ahead, Stamatelopoulos hopes to be in and around the Socceroos squad for some time to come.

However in the immediate future, he is focussed on getting prepped for the pre-season with Newcastle Jets and the birth of his child.

“I got a pretty short offseason, I got two weeks and then I'm back in because we have the FFA Cup round, but my missus is pregnant, so we're expecting a little boy soon in the next month and a bit,” he said.