By Emma Kemp
It is going on six years since Josh Nisbet stepped onto the field for his senior debut, and it was a memorable moment for more reasons than one. Then 19, the Central Coast academy product was brought on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly at the same time as Usain Bolt.
A photo of the pair – Nisbet standing at 160cm tall and Bolt at 195cm – side by side at Central Coast Stadium went viral online as the world tuned in to see if the fastest man alive could actually play football. The answer to that question became clear a couple of first touches after that, and Bolt’s time with the Mariners was short-lived.
But Nisbet’s career has been slowly gathering steam since that August night in 2018, and his status as one of the A-League Men’s form midfielders has finally been rewarded with a maiden Socceroos call-up. Now 24, the three-time Olyroo was called into the senior side by Graham Arnold after Lewis Miller withdrew because of injury.
And the childhood Socceroos fan who had all the merch and a bedroom wall adorned in Mark Bresciano posters will have a shot at debuting in Australia’s two World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon, at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on Thursday and Canberra’s GIO Stadium next Tuesday.
The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, and Australia’s shortest footballer, Josh Nisbet.Credit: Getty
Nisbet was with Mariners teammates when coach Mark Jackson told him he had been selected. “The club got notified, and they did a good job in presenting it in front of everyone in the team,” Nisbet said on Monday. “It was a very nice moment. The reaction of my teammates was a really nice feeling.
“A few nights ago, when I first found out, I couldn’t really sleep. I was just laying in bed thinking about how one day I wasn’t really playing and the next day I’m in the Socceroos.”
Nisbet has always had talent, but it was often overshadowed by his height, and he struggled to convince coaches he could perform for Central Coast’s first team. He got there eventually during Alen Stajcic’s tenure, and excelled under Nick Montgomery throughout the club’s title-winning 2022-23 season.
In 2024, under Jackson, he has adopted a more attacking role that has returned a league-high seven assists from 21 games and goal of the week for his opener in this month’s 3-0 win over Macarthur.
“I’ve transitioned into a different position, and it’s allowing me to show other spots in my game that haven’t been seen before,” he said. “But I’m just enjoying my football – and I think that’s the most important thing – and the performances have been following.
“It’s probably just confidence. You’re playing in the league, and you’re playing well, and then you keep building on that. And because you’re doing so well, you don’t really think about playing, you just think about enjoying the moment. That’s what I’ve done.
“I’ve come here 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’s a funny game, and if you impress things change.”
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