Daniel Arzani predicted his Socceroos World Cup selection two years ago
DANIEL Arzani knew he was going to the World Cup. The unshakeable confidence of Australia’s teen sensation had him on the plane to Russia before he had even played a senior A-League game.
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TEEN Socceroos bolter Daniel Arzani revealed that he was confident of going to this World Cup six months ago, when he had not even started a senior A-League game.
Arzani, 19, will be the youngest of the 736 players competing in Russia, after Bert van Marwijk picked him in the final 23.
January 10 was Arzani’s first Melbourne City start, days after coming on and turning and setting up Ross McCormack twice, and he went on to with the young player of the year award.
Underlining the power of positive thinking, Arzani made the bold Russia 2018 prediction to his brother Ben last December.
“I know it sounds absurd because it’s so out there, but it’s always the way I thought – I’ve always had a positive outlook on things and always had a lot of belief in myself,’’ Arzani said.
“To be completely honest, I was thinking about playing in the World Cup about two years ago. I called that I was gonna be here.
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“I was always very confident in myself and had very high expectations. It was always a dream and goal of mine and something I thought was possible.
“But thinking something’s possible and then it becoming probable is very different. When I started getting a couple of games under my belt and getting a bit of friction then I was really looking towards it and hoping I could make the final cut.
“I’m absolutely stoked to have made the final cut, looking forward to it. It’s a World Cup, now I’m amazed I’m here.”
Arzani concedes it is extraordinary to think he could feature against France after playing state league and youth league level just six months ago.
“It’s ridiculous when you think about it like that, but there’s a back story to it,’’ he said.
“A lot of hard work has gone into it and you’re just waiting to get your opportunity and there’s a lot of young players similar to me – they’ve got the quality but just waiting for their opportunity.
“It’s the same thing I’ve known for years, football is just a funny game, it changes overnight. One day I went from a starting point to a World Cup, possibly playing against France.
“But at the same time you can go from really big highs to really low lows.”
And make no mistake Arzani, who has trained off both the right and left wings and is one of the back-up options for Mathew Leckie, Robbie Kruse and Andrew Nabbout, wants to feature.
“I’m just working hard everyday and trying to leave a good impression on the coach so that if he does need to make a substitution, I’m in his mind,’’ Arzani said.
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