{"id":678194,"date":"2026-05-18T07:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/678194\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T07:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:48:11","slug":"sydney-fcs-akol-akon-youngest-player-in-a-league-grand-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/678194\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney FC’s Akol Akon youngest player in A-League Grand Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Akol Akon can be forgiven for not doing his year 12 homework this week.<\/p>\n

While HSC trials loom around the corner, Sydney FC\u2019s teen sensation isn\u2019t thinking past Saturday.<\/p>\n

Akol \u2013 who turns 17 on Thursday \u2013 will be the youngest player to feature in a grand final when the Sky Blues face Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium.<\/p>\n

He eclipses former Sydney player Joe Gibbs, who was 17 years old and 280 days when he played as a substitute in the 2010 grand final win over Melbourne Victory.<\/p>\n

Should Akol retain his starting spot, he\u2019ll also break the record set by ex-Central Coast player Mustafa Amini \u2013 who was 17 years old and 327 when he lined up against Brisbane in the 2011 decider.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t really fully sunk in yet,\u201d Akol said on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will start to hit me once I\u2019m out on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut hopefully it sinks in soon, and then I\u2019ll get over and done with (the nerves) and then I can focus on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The forward impressed on the right wing at McDonald Jones Stadium to help Sydney to a hard-earned semi-final win over premiers Newcastle on penalties.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the tie at 1-1 after the first leg, Piero Quispe opened the scoring for Sydney FC in the 64th minute, before a sensational strike from Eli Adams sent the game into extra time.<\/p>\n

Sydney FC goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares denied Jets youngster Xavier Bertoncello in a tense shootout, allowing Ben Garuccio to convert the winning spot-kick.<\/p>\n

Playing in his first professional season, Akol is embracing every aspect of grand final week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week is all about football, focusing on what I need to do to get better, focusing on the game,\u201d Akol said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think this week will be about school at all.<\/p>\n

With a sheepish grin, the 16-year-old added: \u201cMaybe next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Akol Akon against his former club. Photo: Getty Images<\/p>\n

To win a record sixth championship, the Sky Blues will have to do something they\u2019ve never done before: beat Auckland FC.<\/p>\n

In five league meetings dating back to 2024, the Sky Blues have lost two matches and drawn three with Auckland.<\/p>\n

Sydney also lost an Australia Cup quarter-final to Auckland on penalties.<\/p>\n

For Akol, the solution is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll we need to do is work twice as hard,\u201d Akol said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Akol Akon can be forgiven for not doing his year 12 homework this week. While HSC trials loom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[326861,64,63,596,85,57712],"class_list":["post-678194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-akol-akon","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-sydney-fc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678194","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=678194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}