Bruno Fornaroli knows better than most the importance of making every moment count.
The 36-year-old Socceroos striker, a late bolter to Graham Arnold's squad, has played just 37 minutes across three Asian Cup matches so far.
But every time he has stepped on the pitch in Doha, Fornaroli has moved like a shark stalking its prey: darting between defence and midfield, creating space, demanding the ball.
At the tail end of a career where he fell short of playing at senior level for Uruguay, and later spent part of his peak sitting in the stands amid a fallout at Melbourne City, Fornaroli knows those moments in the sun can be fleeting.
"It's showing the team what I can I can give to them and to prove myself that I can play in this level and help the team anytime," Fornaroli told AAP in Doha.
"This is why I think the energy was there and that's what I will try to do every single game.
"I don't change my style. This is me in my club and here as well and I don't have to change anything - just enjoy my football and be competitive every single second.
"That's my desire and that's why I'm here. So for me it's about keep improving and you help the team and enjoy the football."
Fornaroli is one of many Socceroos with ties to other countries.
He was an under-17 international with Uruguay, and still has a close friendship with Luis Suarez.
But having lived in Australia since 2015, he is also a fully-fledged Melburnian now, to the point he admits his daily mate ritual has given way to a love of coffee.
When FIFA eligibility rules changed, Fornaroli got his Australian passport and Arnold called him up for two World Cup qualifiers in March 2022.
He wasn't recalled again until his form for Victory - 13 goals in 10 games - made him impossible to ignore for Qatar.
"For me, it's an honour to be here, to play for Australia - and I took that decision," he said.
"No-one pushed me and said 'oh you have to play for Australia' - no, it was me that said 'that's what I want and that's my feeling and I'm part of the country'.
"My son was born in Melbourne, my family is very good in Australia, I'm very grateful with the country, I feel a part of them. So I'm what I want to be."
Fornaroli's selection was met with delight from his friends and family in Uruguay.
"When people talk about my passion inside the field, this comes from Uruguay. So in that side, you can feel that you represent Uruguay as well," he said.
"What Uruguay gave me from a little child, it gave me the chance to play football around the world and now I can show my football in Australia.
"So of course I represent my country as well in Uruguay and I think this is why also they are proud to see me play with the Socceroos."
Fornaroli's commitment and infectious attitude has garnered the respect of his teammates.
"I'd never met Bruno before this camp. I had COVID during that camp against Saudi and Japan at the end of the last campaign," stalwart Jackson Irvine told AAP.
"I've obviously never played in the A-League so never played against him. But what an absolute shining light he is.
"He's a tremendous bloke - he's come in and he's someone who's had such a totally different footballing pathway
"We spoke a lot about our careers and where he's at with his life and everything now
"Someone who can still be capable of stepping back and being so appreciative of an opportunity, even at this point in his career is such a testament to him.
"It rubs off on the other players as well. When they can see the way he trains, the way he approaches everything, how grateful he is, how willing he is to commit to this opportunity that we have here, it just feeds through the team."
The Socceroos have high hopes in Qatar, genuinely believing they can claim their second Asian Cup.
Fornaroli, with his family on hand in Doha, is daring to believe, too.
"We believe that we can do something special," he said.
"It will be my first and my last Asian Cup, so for me it's the opportunity to reach something special with a national team.
""So I will do my best and inside and outside the field to try to win this cup because that's what we want as a team."
But after bolting his way to Qatar, and with World Cup qualifying well and truly under way Fornaroli won't lose his spot without a fight - even if he'll be 38 come 2026.
"I didn't expect to be here actually before but I believe in myself, I believe in what I can do," he said.
"I never close the door. I will keep doing my best until I don't have that fire anymore
"But it's not the case now. I have a lot of a lot of things inside to keep playing football, many reasons, and I'm enjoying every single moment.
"It's a couple of years away, but you never know - football is crazy and I try to show that it's never too late to reach your dream."
