Taggart: I'll be ready in whatever role is required

Taryn Heddo 1742176820,1742190102

Subway Socceroos striker Adam Taggart said that he is ready to contribute in any way that he can during the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers against Indonesia and China PR.

The experienced forward has scored seven goals for the Socceroos in his career and will be hoping to add more to that tally on the back of his form for Perth Glory in the A-League Men.

He told media on Monday morning about how important the upcoming games are for the team and the importance of playing Indonesia at home in Sydney.

Putting his hand up for the team

I'm grateful to be here, grateful for the opportunity. I'll give as much as I can to the team and help everyone out as much as I can, whatever role that is, and I'll be ready.

In any team and any situation, I always want to be a starter and help the team as much as I can. We've got some great boys, like [Kusini] Yengi coming back from injury, and he's had some recent game time as well. Brandon [Borrello]'s been doing well at Western Sydney [Wanderers], and, as a team, they're doing really well. But for myself, I'm always trying to set high standards. I feel I can always contribute with goals. So that's something I'll look to do here, and just try and take the opportunity as best as I can.

His role as a goalscorer within the Socceroos structure

There's obviously some top players here. With the games that I've watched so far over the past few camps, it's obviously looked really good, and we look like an organised team. We're creating those chances. I always believe in myself to put those away. I think it gives me confidence having that quality in the team and those creative players, so I'm looking forward to that. With chances, you're always going to have the opportunity to score. I'd back myself to do so.

It looks clear for everyone what their jobs are. First of all, they've been a difficult team to beat. And secondly, it looks like all the players are all buying in, and on board for the cause that you know the boss is putting in place. You know the quality is there, just having that extra bit of organisation throughout the team. You can see there's a clear game plan with each of those last few games. So, I'm looking forward to experiencing that and being a part of it.

Working with Tony Popovic for the first time

Obviously, it's my first camp with the new boss. I'm looking forward to experiencing that. I've heard a lot of good things over the time that he's been around, and unfortunately, I haven't been able to work with him before. So just looking forward to this opportunity and being part of something that I've heard so much about.

Expectations of Thursday's opponents Indonesia

As a nation, they've obviously improved. I was impressed with them the last time that we played them at their home ground. So they're obviously a nation that are looking to chase us. At this stage, it's always going to be like that. You're always going to have people chasing your tail. It's obviously a close group as it is. So, yeah, it's a massive game for us, but that's why we want to play football. It's for these kind of moments. It's a great opportunity for us as a team to stamp our foot on this group stage and make sure that we can try and creep away from that group.

The importance of this international window

It's always been a bit more difficult over the past few qualifying campaigns. We're actually in a good position. It's all up to us to make sure that we do well and get the three points. It's a great opportunity in this first game to do it at home. Obviously, getting through these two games with six points would be fantastic for us. And I know the boys are all feeling confident and ready to go. It's always important as a team to be getting wins and doing well as a side, and gives everyone confidence. So obviously, full focus is on this first game. Getting the three points out will definitely give us more confidence going into the second game as well.

We realise how important these two games are, but at the end of the day, with any game in football, you've just got to concentrate on what's in front of you. And, you know, concentrate on the right things, which is the tactical side, having a good mentality and making sure that we're going in there with nothing but a winning mentality.

The lift of the home crowd on Thursday

Playing at home is massive. We're playing at a beautiful stadium in a great city who I know will get behind us. I'm definitely looking forward to it personally. I think it gives you that extra bit of push behind you. Knowing what's on the line and having our home fans behind us in a massive game is a great way to start this camp, and will definitely give us that extra little bit of energy to make sure that we get it over the line.

MATCH DETAILS

Subway Socceroos v Indonesia
Thursday, 20 March 2025
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 8.00pm AEDT
Tickets: Available via Ticketek
Broadcast: 10, 10 Play and Paramount+

China PR v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday 25 March 2025
Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou
Kick-off: 7.00pm local / 10.00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Paramount+