WHEN THE CUMDOG MET KING KYLIAN
Cummings’ joy at facing French star
JASON CUMMINGS is in full flow, explaining how he swapped the bench at Dundee for the World Cup in Doha, when footballing royalty sweeps past.
Kylian Mbappe, the new King of France, is on his way to tell his media subjects how he managed to subjugate Australia.
Jabbing a thumb towards the £200million PSG superstar, Cummings can barely believe he has just shared the same pitch.
‘Look, there’s Mbappe there,’ he tells Sportsmail. ‘The main man.
‘You are on that pitch with worldclass players. Players that you watch on the TV, the best of the best. It’s an absolute privilege to share the pitch with these guys.
‘It’s what you dream of as a kid — to play on the big stage and to play against the top players. I am thankful that I got that opportunity. Even if the final result dampened the mood a little bit.’
For 27 minutes against France, Australia dared to dream. Hours after Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by toppling Argentina, the Socceroos threatened to claim another significant scalp when Craig Goodwin shocked the Al Janoub Stadium with a goal in the ninth minute.
By the time Cummings earned a second cap for his adopted homeland after 56 minutes, the French had turned the game around through Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud. Twelve minutes later, Mbappe confirmed his status as footballing aristocracy as the world champions began the defence of their crown with a comprehensive 4-1 win.
By his own admission, the former Hibs, Nottingham Forest and Rangers striker spent the last half hour ‘chasing shadows’. When he left Scotland for Central Coast Mariners in January, however, the 27-year-old was chasing a fresh start after a breach of club discipline curtailed his time at Dundee.
Despite being capped by Scotland in a friendly in 2017, Cummings was eligible to play for the Socceroos through his Australian mother. After 13 goals in 27 games for the Mariners, he earned a call from Graham Arnold just in time to claim his place in the World Cup squad.
‘It’s unbelievable,’ he says with a shake of the head. ‘I have to take a step back and just realise how far I have come in the space of a year.
‘I was on the bench for Dundee a year ago this week and to play France in the World Cup feels unbelievable.
‘Australia was a good chance to reinvent myself. I wanted to show everyone what I’m capable of.
‘I had it tough sometimes when I was in England and playing in Scotland. But I always kept going, I always stayed positive, I always smiled. I kept working hard and believed that my time would come. But when you’re not playing, it’s not easy sometimes.’
Cummings secured cult status — and his Cumdog nickname — after an online video of a wrestling match with Scots celebrity Grado went viral. The video secured a reputation as a loveable rascal; one of the game’s characters.
That reputation was enhanced after the night out in Glasgow last December which saw him sent home from Dundee training the next day. The dip in his career was becoming serious.
‘I just fell in love with football again when I moved to Australia,’ he admits now. ‘That’s down to the Mariners, the team I play for Down Under. Playing there every week got my confidence back and restored my enjoyment.
‘Going to Australia changed my career and I can’t thank the club or Mariners coach Nick Montgomery enough. It feels like an honour to play there.
‘That was what I was missing and now I am reaping the rewards with the Socceroos. It’s a dream come true.
‘It’s a proud moment, a surreal moment, to play in the World Cup against France.
‘Obviously, I am delighted to do that. It’s amazing.
‘It would have been a lot more enjoyable had we won the game. That’s the only downside.
‘We started well, got 1-0 up and gave them a right good game.
‘They just have quality players. Top, top players. And they scored four good goals and punished us.’
Bottom of Group D after one round of games, a meeting with Tunisia on Saturday offers an immediate chance to drag themselves back into contention. Tunisia fans have travelled to Doha in large numbers, the game in Al Janoub likely to feel like a hostile away game for the Socceroos.
Despite a difficult half-hour against France, however, Cummings clings to visions of capping his career resurrection with a goal at the World Cup.
‘I fancy myself to score at this level, 100 per cent. If I get the chance I am more than confident I will take it,’ he said. ‘It’s the same goal, the same ball and it doesn’t really matter who the players are.
‘The difference is that the chances don’t come along as often. In the A-League, I am getting three or four chances a game and the goals are flowing.
‘You saw against France that you are lucky to get a touch of the ball never mind a shot on goal.
‘It was frustrating when I came on. We were losing at the time and you are trying to press and trying to get there. At times, it felt like I was chasing shadows a little bit.’
Former Australia international Zeljko Kalac delivered a harsh verdict on the striker’s contribution, describing it as ‘minging’. Tiring against a French team in full flow, the first half offered hope before Tunisia.
‘Sometimes, you just have to hold your hands up and say: “It’s France, the world champions, one of the best teams ever”,’ said Cummings. ‘There are levels in this game and they showed that in the second half.
‘I felt like we were chasing them and then, when we won the ball back, it felt like we were too tired to do stuff with it. That’s what they do to you. But we’ve got to take the positives.
‘We were 1-0 up against France and dust ourselves off.
‘There are two big games coming up for us now and we showed in spells that we were a good side.’