Injury troubles for Borrello
Brandon Borrello made his triumphant return to the Socceroos last Winter.
The winger featured in two friendlies against Ecuador in March 2023. He then played for the Socceroos against England and New Zealand before taking a part in Australia’s convincing AFC World Cup Qualifying Second Round performances against Bangladesh and Palestine.
Before the matches in March against Ecuador, Borrello had not played for the Socceroos since 2021. Unfortunately, after the Palestine match, Borrello would experience another long layoff from the Socceroos.
An ankle injury kept the winger out of Australia’s 2023 AFC Asian Cup campaign in January of 2024. He has not played for Australia since November 2023.
Now that Borrello has made his second return to the Socceroos, the winger hopes that this time, he will be around for much longer.
Borrello talks redemption
Speaking ahead of Australia’s upcoming FC World Cup Qualifying Third Round matches against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Borrello lamented the time he has missed with the national team since 2019.
“I've missed out on World Cups, an Asian Cup … I’ve been a part of all the qualifiers leading up to big tournaments, but I’ve not played in a big tournament yet,” Borrello said on Monday.
After speaking on his regrets, Borrello said his goal is to finally play in a major tournament with the Socceroos.
“That’s (the 2026 World Cup) obviously a massive goal of mine to get there,” Borrello said.
“You never know what’s going to happen, so every time you come into camp, you have to put your best foot forward
“I’ve been happy, buzzing to get into training, buzzing for games. I just want to keep on doing the things I’m doing.”
Borrello also commented on the new manager, Tony Popovic, and praised his selection policy of picking players who have performed well for their clubs, regardless of their reputation.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, or where you’re playing, if you’re performing week in, week out, he (Popovic) will pick you,” Borrello said.
Borrello has made four league appearances for the Wanderers in 2024. He has started each of those four matches. Borrello has two goals and two assists so far this season.
“However he sees fit for me to play, if I was to play, I’m happy to do a job. We can’t take any game lightly at the moment. We just need to prepare as best as we can. It’s the pressure to qualify for the World Cup, and it’s a massive privilege,” Borrello added.
Huge World Cup Qualifying matches incoming
Australia are level on points with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain heading into this window.
All three are five points behind Japan at the top of the FIFA World Cup qualifying group. The top two nations will secure an automatic qualification spot to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Right now, the betting sites give the Socceroos a good chance of qualifying. A loss to either Saudi Arabia or Bahrain could see Australia’s soccer betting odds take a massive hit.
PlayUp has Australia as $1.85 favourites to beat Saudi Arabia on Thursday at AAMI Park. They are even bigger favourites to beat Bahrain on Tuesday at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa. For Australia’s sake, let’s hope the betting odds are right and Australia win both matches to qualify this window.
