Socceroos star Jackson Irvine holding out hope for Copa America

Jackson Irvine has his fingers crossed the coronavirus won’t cost the Socceroos their chance to take on South America’s best.

Jackson Irvine is still looking forward to taking on South America’s best players next year. Picture: Getty Images

Jackson Irvine is keeping his fingers crossed the coronavirus pandemic won’t cost the Socceroos their chance to take on South America’s best footballers in their backyard.

Hull City captain Irvine, like many Australian footballers across the globe, is training in isolation due to the COVID-19 crisis.

He said he and Australian teammates had been counting down the days until the Socceroos make their debut in the Copa America in June as one of two guest nations.

Like so many other major sporting events in 2020, however, the continental showpiece has been postponed for 12 months and rescheduled for the middle of next year.

That has put Australia’s ability to take part in doubt with a backlog of Asian World Cup qualifiers looming once global football resumes.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has already said Australia would have to knock back the Copa invitation if it clashes with World Cup qualification matches.

“It was something we were all very much looking forward to,” Irvine said on Monday. “The idea of competing at that level against the calibre of opposition and individuals.

“Even being in South America, somewhere I’ve never been before. That’s so appealing and would be so exciting.

“I suppose all the players will be very hopeful that the invitation still stands and a lot of us will still have the chance to go and compete at that tournament next year.”

Irvine said living in Britain during the pandemic had been an unusual experience, especially when the virus hit England hard in the past fortnight.

“It did feel like it kind of crept up,” he said. “There was kind of talk about it originally and then it was like someone flicked a switch and it was like, ‘wow, we’re really in a situation here’.

“The last few weeks it’s been horrible to see how badly it’s escalated. The streets are empty, we’re only really allowed out for the essential stuff and for us as players we have to get our work in terms of the physical aspect of football; so we’ve been trying to get out to do our stuff at least once a day but it’s just really deserted everywhere you go and, yes, it’s a really strange kind of time.”

Meanwhile, Matildas star Caitlin Foord, also training in isolation in England, says she has rediscovered her love for the game.

In just two weeks at Arsenal, having joined the English powerhouse in January, Foord found a spark that had faded in recent years.

“It’s really only been two games and two weeks of training, so it hasn’t been much,” Foord said. “Every session I had and the games I played, I really enjoyed and it was almost like in that two weeks I found my spark again.

“I think I lost my enjoyment and love for the game a little bit and (moving to Arsenal) just felt like such a perfect choice and change and the right decision instantly when I got here from the first training session.”

Still just 25, Foord has been a Matildas player for nine years — a veteran of World Cups, an Olympic Games and an Asian Cup.

She’s also had her fair share of injuries, including a foot injury that wiped out most of her 2018 campaign.

That also affected her stint at US powerhouse Portland Thorns, where she struggled to earn a starting berth in a stacked forward group. Arsenal’s interest came at the perfect time.

Foord only managed two games for fellow Australian Joe Montemurro’s Gunners — scoring one goal — before heading to Vietnam for Olympic qualifiers. The English season was put on hold shortly after her return. After quarantine, Foord moved in with Swiss player Lia Walti and has relished the company — along with her teammate’s backyard as London’s weather improves.

AAP