Irvine, Australia midfielder: “We have experience in the playoffs and that will help us grow”

The Australian team will face Peru in the playoff for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, after beating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in the Asian playoff. In that game, Jackson Irvine scored the first goal for the ‘Socceroos’ and recently highlighted that his national team has a good record when it comes to facing this kind of match.

“Each experience is unique, but we have learned from those types of playoff games. Being part of the games against Syria and Honduras, there were quite a few lessons left and a lot of the guys who are here today were also part of that.”, explained the 29-year-old midfielder.

It is worth mentioning that Jackson Irvine played the Asian playoff with Australia against the Syrian team (draw 1-1 and victory 2-1) and then the playoff to the 2018 Russia World Cup, against the Honduran team, which represented Concacaf (the ‘Socceroos’ tied 0-0 and won 3-1).

“We need to bring that experience to players who weren’t there. Every little bit of what happened in the past can help us grow and contribute to what we do next week. It’s a very different environment now, but hopefully, we’ll be there to achieve the same result.”, added the footballer.

In the same way, Irvine revealed that in his childhood he experienced the playoffs for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when the “Socceroos” defeated Uruguay. “It seems like a lifetime ago, although at a different time, I got up to watch the games in the morning. Hopefully the younger generations will wake up and in the future tell their own story by seeing us qualify, and then coming to experience it themselves.”, stated the flyer.

Finally, Jackson Irvine highlighted the support of the fans of the Australian team. “There was good energy in the stadium against the United Arab Emirates. Sometimes it’s hard to create atmosphere in neutral venues, but the few fans that were there definitely gave us a little extra oomph.”, sentenced the midfielder.