There will be some new faces in Graham Arnold's squad for the upcoming friendlies against Ecuador in Sydney and Melbourne. Namely, Alex Robertson, the Scottish born and Sydney raised midfielder who has been climbing the ranks at English Premier League giants Manchester City.
Football runs in the blood of the Robertson family with Alex's father, Mark, also a professional footballer while grandfather, Alex, also featured for Australia in his career.
Robertson's decision to commit to the Socceroos was quite straightforward for him however it is worth pointing out that he remains eligible to represent Scotland, England as well as Peru due to his mother's heritage.
"I came to the decision to play for the Socceroos for my future, for where I want to play, where I want to be in my career, and that's playing for the Socceroos," Robertson said.
"That's (Australia) my home, it's where I've got all my memories as a kid and for football. To be able to play for the Socceroos, to be able to play for my home will be special."
The upcoming friendlies against Ecuador will mark a special occasion for Robertson and his family as the 19-year-old looks set to follow in his father and grandfather's footsteps as he pulls on the green and gold.
"It's a third generation, I don't know many families that could say they've got three generations of people playing for the Socceroos or any national team."
"It's going to be great to make my family proud."
Robertson explained just what it will mean to him to don the Socceroos colours when the time comes.
"Putting on the jersey will mean a lot to me, and a lot to my family as well. Playing in a men's international game for the Socceroos is going to be special," he said.
"When Graham Arnold called me I had butterflies in my stomach after the phone call and during it, so I can only imagine what it's going to feel like putting on that shirt and playing in front of all the Australian fans - I can imagine it will be a great feeling."
Robertson's rapid rise has not been nothing short of spectacular, with the creative midfielder currently training day in, day out with Pep Guardiola's side.
"I think my season at club level has been a shock to some people. The situation I was in before, and the situation I'm in now to keep moving forward.
I was injured, I was out not playing football for a while, and then to come back and do everything so quick. I've been on the bench for the first team a couple of times.
The manager (Guardiola) has given me faith to be on that bench along big names is massive."
Catch Robertson and the Subway Socceroos in action live and free on 10 Play next week as they host Ecuador at CommBank Stadium. Broadcast begins 1930, kick off 2005 AEDT.
Watch the Subway Socceroos live and free on Network 10 and 10 Play
2023 Subway Socceroos Fixtures
Australia to Welcome Home Socceroos in March
SUBWAY SOCCEROOS SQUAD – WELCOME SERIES VS ECUADOR – MARCH 2023
| Name | Current Club, Country | ‘A’ Caps (Goals) | Junior Club (Member Federation/Country) |
| Nathaniel ATKINSON | Heart of Midlothian FC, Scotland | 6 (0) | Riverside Olympic FC / Football Tasmania |
| Keanu BACCUS | St Mirren FC, Scotland | 5 (0) | Parklea FC / Football New South Wales |
| Aziz BEHICH | Dundee United FC, Scotland | 57 (2) | Meadow Park SC / Football Victoria |
| Brandon BORRELLO | Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia | 4 (0) | Modbury Jets SC / Football South Australia |
| Jordan BOS | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 0 | Hoppers Crossing SC / Football Victoria |
| Jason CUMMINGS | Central Coast Mariners FC, Australia | 2 (1) | Lothian Thistle Hutchinson Vale FC (Scotland) |
| Milos DEGENEK | Columbus Crew, USA | 42 (1) | Blacktown City FC / Football New South Wales |
| Thomas DENG | Albirex Niigata, Japan | 2 (0) | Adelaide Blue Eagles / Football South Australia |
| Cameron DEVLIN | Heart of Midlothian FC, Scotland | 1 (0) | Sutherland Sharks FC / Football New South Wales |
| Mitchell DUKE | Fagiano Okayama, Japan | 25 (9) | Liverpool Rangers SC / Football New South Wales |
| Joe GAUCI (Gk) | Adelaide United FC, Australia | 0 | Cumberland United FC / Football South Australia |
| Craig GOODWIN | Adelaide United FC, Australia | 14 (3) | Munro Para City FC / Football South Australia |
| Jackson IRVINE | FC St. Pauli, Germany | 53 (7) | Ringwood City SC / Football Victoria |
| Garang KUOL | Heart of Midlothian FC, Scotland | 3 (0) | Goulburn Valley Suns / Football Victoria |
| Awer MABIL | AC Sparta Prague, Czechia | 31 (8) | Saint Augustines FC / Football South Australia |
| Riley MCGREE | Middlesbrough FC, England | 15 (1) | Gawler Eagles FC / Football South Australia |
| Connor METCALFE | FC St. Pauli, Germany | 5 (0) | South Cardiff FC / Northern NSW Football |
| Aaron MOOY | Celtic FC, Scotland | 57 (7) | Carlingford Redbacks FC / Football New South Wales |
| Aiden O’NEILL | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 0 | University of Queensland Football Club (Formerly Kenmore FC) / Football Queensland |
| Andrew REDMAYNE (Gk) | Sydney FC, Australia | 4 (0) | Gosford City Dragons FC / Football New South Wales |
| Alexander ROBERTSON | Manchester City FC, England | 0 | Pagewood Botany FC / Football New South Wales |
| Kye ROWLES | Heart of Midlothian FC, Scotland | 7 (0) | Palm Beach SC / Football Queensland |
| Mathew RYAN (Gk) (Cpt) | FC Copenhagen, Denmark | 79 (0) | Blacktown City FC / Football New South Wales |
| Harry SOUTTAR | Leicester City FC, England | 14 (6) | Brechin City Boys Club (Scotland) |
| Marco TILIO | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 5 (0) | APIA Leichhardt FC & Sydney Olympic FC / Football New South Wales |
| Bailey WRIGHT | Rotherham United FC, England | 28 (2) | Langwarrin SC / Football Victoria |
| Train-On Player Nestory IRANKUNDA | Adelaide United FC, Australia | 0 | Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC / Football South Australia |
SUBWAY SOCCEROOS’ WELCOME HOME SERIES – MATCH SCHEDULE
Match Day OneDate: Friday, 24 March 2023 Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Time: 8.05pm AEDT Tickets: https://premier.ticketek.com.au
Broadcast: Live on 10 in Sydney and Melbourne, 10 Bold in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth, and on 10 Play and Paramount+.
Match Day TwoDate: Tuesday, 28 March 2023 Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Time: 7:35pm AEDT Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/
Broadcast: Live on 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
