Hibs hero shares pinnacle of career so far as he plots path to bettering adrenaline fuelled joy ride
A crunch World Cup qualifier lies in wait for one Hibs star later this week.
One Hibs star is aiming to recreate the ‘greatest achievement’ of his career on Thursday night by helping his country seal their place at next summer’s World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Australia have enjoyed a largely positive campaign after easing into the third round of the AFC qualifiers by topping Group I with comfortable wins against Lebanon, Palestine and Bangladesh. After seeing off China and Indonesia in the final group stage, the Socceroos fell short of topping Group C in the third round after falling to a surprise 1-0 loss against Bahrain and battling to a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia.
Tony Popovic’s men will officially secure a spot at next summer’s finals with a win against a Japan side that have already qualified and are expected to name a much-changed side on Thursday. The clash at Perth’s Optus Stadium could well put the seal on Australia’s bid to qualify for sixth consecutive World Cup finals after two runs to the round-of-16 sandwiched three group stages exits in Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
Hibs star Martin Boyle was part of the Socceroos squad that claimed a penalty shoot-out win against Peru to seal their place at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar - although the Hibs star missed the tournament after undergoing knee surgery following a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
However, he is now looking to make up for lost time as he prepares for a crunch clash against Japan later this week. He told The West Australian: “To this day, it’s probably the greatest achievement I’ve had my career, to qualify for that World Cup. There’s no better feeling, just the adrenaline, the buzz, it’s the pinnacle of people’s careers. Being selected for the World Cup could maybe tip that, but qualifying and to know you’ve done it, to help your nation qualify for a World Cup, it’s a special feeling. We’ll be drilling that into the lads. We have good experience.
“These are the games you want to play in, they’re massive games,” explained the Hibs forward. “These are the games you can be a hero in. Certainly everyone will have an eye on doing that, but most importantly is to qualify for the nation — we know how difficult it’ll be.”