Keanu Baccus is daring to dream of firing himself into the World Cup history books for Australia.
The Socceroo’s kick off their Group D campaign tomorrow night against current holders France, going into the clash as serious underdogs.
St Mirren midfielder Baccus grew up idolising the likes of former Aussie stars Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill, watching them as they represented their country at World Cups around the globe.
Cahill scored one of Australia’s most memorable ever goals at the tournament in 2014, lashing home a stupendous volley against Holland in Brazil which kissed the underside of the bar as it crashed into the net.
And as he prepares for what is set to be a memorable encounter against Kylian Mbappe and co, 24-year-old Baccus is determined to create a special memory of his own in Qatar for his family, his country and St Mirren.
Baccus told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “Although I used to watch rugby growing up, I was fixated on football. I watched Tim Cahill a lot, he was massive for us.
“Mark Schwarzer, even though he was a goalkeeper, he was massive too. He was a nice guy as well. Mark Bresciano, Harry Kewell, Viduka. I loved so many.
“When I think of World Cups it’s so special. Cahill’s goal for Australia in Brazil was incredible.
“I remember Van Persie’s header for the Netherlands as well. These moments are so special.
“You never know, to come off the bench and create history for myself, my family, for St Mirren, everyone involved, it would be an amazing feeling.
“To follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cahill and those guys is amazing and actually a bit surreal.
“When you get older you realise how blessed you are and you’ve got to keep pushing and improving and doing the hard work.
“It pays off in the end.”
As well as realising his own dream, Baccus knows he’ll be fulilling the ambition of both his father and his brother if he makes it onto the pitch in Qatar.
An injury robbed his dad Bryon of making the international grade with South Africa, while brother Kearyn turned out for Australia’s Under-17 side but never made it into the senior ranks.
Baccus is desperate to do his whole family proud in Qatar after helping him every step of the way of his footballing journey so far.
He explained: “My family are so happy for me. They know how hard I’ve worked for this.
“My brother and father were players and never got this opportunity. My brother has had a good career and he’s just happy for me now at the end of the day.
“My mum was sporty, athletics on her part. My dad played in South Africa. My brother also played for Kaiser Chiefs and my dad played just a level above, he would tell us how good he was!
“But he suffered a bad knee injury and never came back the same. As soon as he moved over to Australia, he never really played football but we always had a ball at our feet because of him.
“From what we hear, my dad might’ve played international football if it wasn’t for the injury. My mum backs him up on that.
“He played a lot of positions too, he was versatile. That’s when he was in South Africa. Then he moved away in his mid-20s.
“I was born in South Africa then we moved when I was one.
“My older brother showed me the ropes when I was young and made me fall in love with the game.
“I will always have to thank him and my parents who have done so much for me to enable me to get here.
“So it’s a massive achievement, not just for me but my whole family.”
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