Triantis: My time will come

Maiden Subway Socceroos call-up Nectar Triantis said that it was an honour and a privilege to be part of the squad for the first time ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Third Round Qualifier against China PR on Tuesday evening.

Triantis currently plays his club football at Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League, where he is on loan from Sunderland in the English Championship.

The 21-year-old spoke to the media on Sunday about his pride in being selected for the Socceroos for the first time, his preferred midfield position, and the mentorship he has been receiving among senior players.

Pride in his selection

It's always an honour and a privilege, especially on my first camp with the senior team. It's a real honour. The whole week has been exciting, really. Getting to grips with the standard and everything that comes along with it.

I'm a big family - one of 10, and I'm the second youngest in that. They all came with their families [to the game against Indonesia], and the game was in Sydney. Being from Sydney, they were all excited to be there. So it was a good experience all around.

The moment he found out

I was in the dressing room just getting ready for training, and just out of the blue, received a text saying that I was going to be called up to the Socceroos. Everyone was around me, and it was sort of a little party for the next five minutes celebrating it. It was just good to see all the boys get around me and really show that emotion for me and family.

I called my Mum straight away. You're not allowed to call people in the changing room, so they were calling for a fine. But I didn't care! I had to let my Mum know straight away.

A midfielder, first and foremost

I've been selected as a midfielder because of my performances there this season. I see myself, personally, in the midfield. I think that's where I'm growing myself into and also in Europe this season, I've played all my games there.

In the youth ranks, I was a midfielder, and slowly got transitioned to a centre-back at around 16, up until last season. So it's always been a position that I've been capable of, and sort of mixed in and around. I think in preseason with Sunderland this season, I transitioned back into midfield. Going out on loan, I wanted it to be a club where I was going to be playing in the midfield. Hibs [Hibernian] perfectly suited me. I think we can all see that it's suited well.

Mentorship

There's definitely a lot of experience in this team. As a young player myself, you tend to look up to the older boys. Jackson Irvine is in my position, but also Maty Ryan, the experience and the leadership qualities that he has. I think for me, they're the big two that I've really tried to learn from.

[Popovic] just said to continue believing in myself. I'm a young player. My time will come. I just have to keep my head down and [keep] working hard until I get that opportunity. You can't let yourself down by having a weak mentality. I just have to keep on pushing hard and waiting for my opportunity.

The standards at camp

It's a very high standard, as you can imagine - and as it rightly should be, because of how high quality these players are. I think it's always good to be around quality players and it helps yourself grow in those aspects. The main things for me to take away from this is the excellence that the coaches drive, and the standards that they've put in.

NEXT GAME

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+