Jackson Irvine can’t wait for the start of the u-20 World Cup when he captains Australia through the event in Turkey.
June 22 in Trabzon will be a proud day for the midfielder as he leads out his nation to face Colombia in the opening match of Group C.
Three years ago when Irvine left Melbourne for Glasgow the teenager wasn’t quoted by the national side and turned out for Scotland’s u-19 side thanks to his Aberdeen born dad.
Irvine’s Aussie pedigree could never be doubted with international recognition coming in November when he helped the land of his birth through the Asian qualifiers to reach Turkey.
An injury on international duty reduced his opportunities at Celtic but now fully fit he’s hoping to make a big impact in Turkey after playing in friendlies against Holland and Germany.
“You do take a risk saying, ‘I’ll pack up and head overseas’ ,” he told a local paper near Melbourne. “It’s really stop-start, it’s hard to make plans. You’re constantly on the move but it’s worth it for the opportunities that you get.”
Looking at the build up to Turkey he added: “We put out an absolutely outstanding effort against Germany.
“We were very unlucky not to come out with a win. We proved to ourselves as well as everyone else how good we can be.”
As well as Colombia Australia will also face El Salvador and host nation Turkey in the group stage with the top two countries from all six groups moving onto the second stage alongwith the four best sides to finish in third place.
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Hopefully we get to see more of Irvine in the future. Sorry to be a bother, but Columbia is spelled “Colombia.” Common mistake!
HH