Newcastle United wonderkid Garang Kuol is determined to prove himself on the 'biggest stage' of all after earning his World Cup call-up. The teenager earned a place in the Australia squad despite starting just one professional game so far in his fledgling career.
Kuol will join the Magpies in January following a number of impressive cameo displays with A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners, registering a goal involvement every 36 minutes so far. The 18-year-old is the second youngest player to earn a call-up to this year's World Cup, and the forward will become the youngest player to represent the Socceroos at the competition if he's called upon over the next month.
The World Cup call-up marks the latest stage of a meteoric rise for Kuol, who made his international debut as a substitute in the friendly victory over New Zealand in September. However, the Magpies-bound starlet rejected any talk of feeling intimidated ahead of the prospect of Australia's opening group fixture against reigning world champions France.
READ MORE: Dwight Yorke labels Newcastle-bound Garang Kuol as 'one to watch' ahead of World Cup
He told the Sydney Morning Herald: “I wouldn’t say intimidation – I find it more exciting, to see what you can do against players of that calibre. It’s a very exciting experience for me. Obviously, I’ve watching the Socceroos for a long time.
"The World Cup’s the biggest stage. I want to prove myself. I’ve just got to go into it with the right mindset. It’s all about having confidence in yourself and being ruthless, having that mindset to want to create something and make an impact.”
Kuol added: “I don’t really pay attention to what’s said around me and stuff. I’m mainly just focused on what I do on the field, at training and games. If I’m not playing well, I’m not gonna look at what’s going on online to gee me up.”
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