MELBOURNE, March 24 : A two-year absence from the Australia camp fuelled speculation Alex Robertson had turned his back on the Socceroos, but the Cardiff City midfielder is back in the fold and says he was always committed.
Scotland-born Robertson, whose father and grandfather both represented Australia, won the last of his two caps against Argentina in Beijing in 2023 under former coach Graham Arnold but has yet to add to them under Tony Popovic.
He will hope to change that when the Socceroos play Cameroon in Sydney on Friday and Curacao in Melbourne next week, the team’s last warm-ups on home soil before the June 11-July 19 World Cup.
Popovic raised eyebrows last year when he said Robertson, who played for England at junior levels and is eligible to play for Scotland and his mother’s country Peru, had withdrawn himself from selection due to a paperwork issue.
Robertson said on Tuesday he could not remember details around the paperwork problem but denied he had ever seriously weighed other options.
“There was never really any thought to go anywhere else. It was always Australia,” the 22-year-old told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
“I grew up in Australia as a kid. I classed myself as being Australian and couldn’t really think to play for any other country than Australia.
“The rumours, I’ve seen a few of them, it was kind of just paper talk. It was never really anything that crossed my mind.”
Robertson was called up for the last Socceroos camp in October for away friendlies against World Cup co-hosts Canada and the United States but did not get any game-time.
The upcoming friendlies may be his last chance to impress Popovic and win a spot in the World Cup squad.
“It would mean the world,” he said of playing at the global tournament.
“It’s something I dreamt of as a little kid, and even just playing for Australia I dreamt of since I was a little kid.
“So I’d never take it for granted and hopefully can get a few more games and just play as much as I can.”
