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Updated June 12, 2026 \u2014 3:46pm,first published 3:32pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Alameda: When a youthful Manchester United side lost to Aston Villa the opening day of the 1995-96 Premier League season, BBC\u2019s Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen uttered a phrase which has become arguably football\u2019s most famous misjudgment.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t win anything with kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Among those kids were David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt. Sir Alex Ferguson had sold some of his best senior players from the previous season and, unlike their major rivals, made no major signings to replace them, because he was happy to rely on the quality of the graduates from the club\u2019s academy.<\/p>\n Critics thought he\u2019d gone mad. United went on to win the league and cup double that season, and Hansen\u2019s words live on in infamy.<\/p>\n In that spirit, Socceroo Mohamed Toure doesn\u2019t want to hear about how he and his teammates are too young<\/a> to be ready for what awaits them at their first World Cup.<\/p>\n And especially not these days.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like football has changed,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see a lot of teams in the world … that Spain team, one of the favourites to win. Have you seen their age?\u201d<\/p>\n La Roja\u2019s squad has an average age of 26.2 \u2013 one of the lowest in the tournament \u2013 and many of their best players are 23 and under. Lamine Yamal, arguably the best player on the planet, is only 18, and therefore cannot buy alcohol in America until 2029. The Socceroos, for the record, are the 17th-youngest World Cup team on average, at 26.88 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like Barcelona, as well,\u201d Toure continued.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see Pedri: young. Gavi: young. [Alejandro] Balde is young, Lamine Yamal is young, [Pau] Cubarsi is young. Half the Barcelona team were young \u2013 and then you have an experienced Real Madrid team that haven\u2019t beat Barcelona in how many games?<\/p>\n \u201cSo I feel like experience is important, but it\u2019s the best players on the day. And I\u2019m not saying the best players on the team are the young ones. I\u2019m just saying that whoever is the best will play. It\u2019s a mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n Toure\u2019s confidence is not unique within the Socceroos, or indeed, football. It is representative of a generation of players like him, and teammates Nestory Irankunda<\/a>, Cristian Volpato<\/a> and Paul Okon jnr<\/a>, who have grown up watching teenagers dominate at the highest level.<\/p>\n The idea that players need hundreds of senior appearances before they can be trusted no longer holds the same weight to them, when they can see Yamal winning the Euros at 16, and Desire Doue and Joao Neves, both 21, winning the UEFA Champions League.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t see the need to wait \u2013 so they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it\u2019s my first World Cup. Yes, it\u2019s a big tournament,\u201d Toure said. \u201cBut I feel like the guys with the biggest hearts and the best mindset kill this tournament. And they have good tournaments because they don\u2019t make the occasion too big in their head. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n In that department, Toure can hardly be faulted. It is precisely why he believes he enjoyed such a productive start to life at Norwich City, the English club where he scored 10 goals in just 12 appearances after a mid-season transfer, cementing him as Australia\u2019s first-choice striker – because he refused to accept any other outcome.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI feel like when people go to new teams, especially if it\u2019s an upgrade in league, they tend to put in their head doubt,\u201d Toure said.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, \u2018OK, I\u2019m in a bigger league now, it\u2019s going to take time for me to adapt. The first few weeks I\u2019m not going to play, but that\u2019s alright.\u2019 I took a way different approach to this Norwich one, because I\u2019m like, \u2018In the summer I have a World Cup. I want to go to the World Cup, but I also want to be in my best shape, and to be in my best shape, I have to play games. I have to work my [backside] off to be in the starting team and play. I have to make sure going into that World Cup I\u2019m the most confident I\u2019ve ever been in my career.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then that mentality, I think it worked out for me \u2013 and when you believe something in your head, it actually becomes true.\u201d<\/p>\n Toure even earned a comparison with Erling Haaland from his coach at Norwich, Paul Clement, specifically in recognition of his mental strength, for recovering after missing a penalty. And that resilience was on display in Australia\u2019s friendly defeat to Mexico, where Toure had an open goal at his mercy, put the ball wide, but didn\u2019t let that moment overwhelm him and continued to battle hard.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cMaybe a year ago, I would dwell on it \u2026 but some go in, some go out, some don\u2019t score,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as I was there and in the right position, I know the next time that ball comes, I will score.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Mohamed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a08f0558cc89a98c03229edf921e38f29e430a25779434d40924a66503617493.jpeg\")
Mohamed Toure is ready to make this World Cup his own.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Lamine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a3a275dd110de510518d424aae068cce5d6813ee.jpeg\")
Lamine Yamal at Euro 2024.AP<\/p>\n![\"Mohamed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/18ae411d45879f710401fb109e5be7003cb111e7.jpeg\")
Mohamed Toure in action against Mexico.AP Photo\/Kyusung Gong<\/p>\n![\"Jordan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/73b2da753ab2f72364e96a0534017a309b5f362d490807a7a983e69b5a4a76bb.jpeg\")
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