It is a journey from Montrose to Mbappe. While Martin Boyle will begin his first global tournament against Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and the rest of a France team defending the World Cup, his first-team career started in humbler surroundings: Scottish Division 3.
Figuratively, the Australia winger has come a long way. Geographically, too. Not everyone represents the country of their birth but perhaps no one in Qatar comes from further away from their adopted nation. “I am a little boy from Aberdeen playing in a World Cup,” he tells The Independent. “Sometimes I still pinch myself. My family are still incredibly proud of where we came from. I started from the bottom of Scottish football and worked my way up and if you had told me this four years ago, I would probably have laughed in your face.”
