Socceroos’ newest recruit Josh Nisbet relishes surprise call-up for World Cup qualifiers
The Socceroos’ newest call-up, Josh Nisbet, has spent much of his life proving doubters wrong, but says his elevation to the national team won’t temper his high ambition.
The 1.6 metre-tall midfielder was brought into the Socceroos squad on Saturday ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon after fullback Lewis Miller was ruled out due to injury.
Nisbet has had to overcome preconceptions due to his height for much of his career, but has established himself at the Central Coast Mariners and is now flourishing in a more advanced role.
He was named the players’ player of the month in the A-League Men for January and February and leads the competition in assists this season, with seven.
Although the 24-year-old was part of the midfield that won the championship last year, he said the call-up still came as a surprise.
“A few nights ago when I first found out I couldn’t really sleep, so I was just sitting laying in bed just thinking about, ‘yeah, one day I wasn’t really playing and the next day I’m in Socceroos,’” he said.
“It’s been really nice, but I’m still looking forward to the future and still having ambitions.”
Nisbet only cemented his place at the Mariners in his early 20s, and has described situations in his youth where junior coaches preferred taller players. But through steady improvement he has become one of the ALM’s most accomplished – and in-demand – players. Rumours linked him with Melbourne City last week, but he revealed on Monday he hasn’t signed anywhere and he was open to a return to the Mariners.
For now, his focus is on the current international window and training with the Socceroos for the first time.
It’s an experience he described as a “dream come true”, but one that is not straightforward. He said he wanted to build relationships at the same time as pushing for as many match minutes as possible.
“It’s my first ever camp so I’m looking to sort of linger with the boys and get relationships going and then hopefully, if the opportunity comes up, I’ll take it,” he said.
“I’ve come in to try and push my way into the squad and with the training sessions I can hopefully do that. I understand that I wasn’t the first picked but football is a funny game, and if you impress things change.”
After coach Graham Arnold left him out of the initial squad, Nisbet said he was given the news of his belated callup by Mariners staff while the team was playing in India in the AFC Cup last week.
“We had a team meeting, the club got informed and [football manager] Mark Jackson congratulated me for the player of the month [award], and then dropped, ‘you’re in the call-up.’”
“No one really reacted because everyone already knew that I wasn’t called up [in the initial squad] and then he said, ‘no, we got a call this morning that you’re in.’
“I was pretty stoked, didn’t really say much and then I turn around and all my teammates are standing on their feet clapping, cheering.”
The Socceroos play Lebanon on Thursday night in Parramatta, then again on Tuesday in Canberra.