{"id":560717,"date":"2026-03-24T08:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T08:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/560717\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T08:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T08:28:10","slug":"alex-robertson-says-socceroos-allegiance-was-never-in-doubt-as-he-pushes-for-world-cup-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/560717\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Robertson says Socceroos allegiance was never in doubt as he pushes for World Cup selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Alex Robertson’s mind, his commitment to the Socceroos was never in doubt, even when everyone else thought it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The highly rated 22-year-old made his Socceroos debut in 2023 under Graham Arnold, and he was on a seemingly straightforward path to remain in the green and gold for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That went off course last year when Socceroos coach Tony Popovic said the Cardiff City midfielder was ineligible for the national side due to a paperwork issue<\/a>, and had made himself unavailable.<\/p>\n

And with his two international caps having come in friendlies, he was still eligible to represent England, Peru, and Scotland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was resolved when the Manchester City Academy product was recalled to the squad late last year after a two-year absence.<\/p>\n

And now, as the Australians prepare to face Cameroon and Cura\u00e7ao in their final home games before the World Cup, Robertson has cleared the air.<\/p>\n

Kind of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Cardiff<\/p>\n

Robertson plays for Cardiff City in League One, England’s third tier. (Getty Images: Cardiff City FC)<\/p>\n

“I wasn’t actually too sure what [the paperwork issue] was. I just let the other people deal with that and sort it all out,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I’m actually not sure what the issue was at the time; I can’t remember now.”<\/p>\n

Robertson was born in Scotland, raised in Sydney, and represented England at youth level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But whatever transpired in his two-year Socceroos hiatus matters little now, having pledged his future to the country his father and grandfather played for.<\/p>\n

“There was never really any thought to go anywhere else. It was always Australia,” Robertson said.<\/p>\n

“I grew up in Australia as a kid. I classed myself as being Australian and couldn’t really think to play for any other country than Australia.<\/p>\n

“The rumours, I’ve seen a few of them, it was kind of just paper talk. It was never really anything that crossed my mind.”<\/p>\n

Youth to drive Popovic’s Socceroos<\/a><\/p>\n

As Tony Popovic’s Socceroos edge closer to two decisive World Cup qualifiers, they do so without young midfielder Alex Robertson, who is yet to commit his allegiances to Australia.<\/p>\n

Robertson is still far from guaranteed a place in the World Cup squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He didn’t get any game time after earning selection in the last camp in October, meaning these two games in Sydney and Melbourne could be his last chance to prove his ilk to Popovic.<\/p>\n

“It’s mainly about trying to help the team that I’m playing for and just to do the best I can do,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It would mean the world [to go to the World Cup]. It’s something I dreamt of as a little kid and even just playing for Australia, I dreamt of since I was a little kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“So I’d never take it for granted and hopefully can get a few more games and just play as much as I can.”<\/p>\n

Captain Ryan embracing fatherhood<\/p>\n

Someone who is all but certain to feature at the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico is captain Mat Ryan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Levante<\/p>\n

Mat Ryan plays for Levante in Spain’s La Liga. The side is struggling at second last on the ladder. (Getty Images: Diego Souto)<\/p>\n

Whether he is the first choice with the gloves remains to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There were some doubts over his place at the back end of last year as he searched for a club, but he has now settled in at Levante in La Liga.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Izzo has been breathing down his neck, while Patrick Beach has the third goalkeeper spot for this camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old Ryan isn’t too concerned, as he looks to make a fourth World Cup.<\/p>\n

“Competition is what makes us the strongest team that we can be; it always brings the best out of one another. And it’s a healthy thing to have within the side,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Mat<\/p>\n

Ryan wants to go to a fourth straight World Cup. (AAP: Richard Wainwright)<\/p>\n

“Tony does a great job at creating that environment in here; there’s no hierarchy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There’s no just because someone is senior or more experienced or someone is younger and less experienced, meaning that this player is the number one for that position or this player is the number two or nothing like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“So I’m just trying to do the same. Every opportunity I get, I try to make the most of.<\/p>\n

“And that’s what the jersey and the badge in our country deserve, and you’ve got to be playing at your best level to warrant being selected every time you get to take that field.”<\/p>\n

Ryan is also embracing his new role as a dad to his six-month-old son Preston.<\/p>\n

“I feel like I’m doing pretty well this season on a personal level and obviously trying to help the team,” he said.<\/p>\n

Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n

“And I think it really helps in recognising that there’s all of a sudden something more important in the world than sport or other aspects of your life. And it almost takes the edge off a little bit.<\/p>\n

“I’m thriving being a father and thriving being a footballer who’s recently become a father.<\/p>\n

“It’s an amazing feeling, and I think it’s something you only really understand once you become it yourself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Alex Robertson’s mind, his commitment to the Socceroos was never in doubt, even when everyone else thought…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[160839,272098,64,63,16135,6260,253458,42150,85,6248,21418],"class_list":["post-560717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-alex-robertson","tag-alexander-robertson","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-mat-ryan","tag-mathew-ryan","tag-socceroos","tag-sports","tag-tony-popovic","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}