'I'm backing myself': Portsmouth man eyeing World Cup dream after ending eight-month international absence
The Blues central defender has joined up with his first Socceroos camp since October after Australia call-up
Hayden Matthews in banking on his Pompey season swansong earning World Cup recognition.
Although the central defender concedes that he faces a tough battle to break into one of ‘better positions’ for the Socceroos.
The 21-year-old has been called up for a pre-training camp in Sarasota, Florida, ahead of boss Tony Popovic naming his 26-man squad for the World Cup finals in America, Canada and Mexico.
It represents Matthews’ first involvement with the Australian national team since October, having subsequently been overlooked for the last two international get togethers.
With a friendly scheduled against Mexico on May 30 before Popovic must submit his final squad on June 1, it offers a prized opportunity for the Pompey defender to impress.
And, having started John Mousinho’s final two games of the season against Stoke and Birmingham, he’s hoping to use that momentum as a springboard to securing his World Cup spot.
‘There were definitely times when I doubted I would get that opportunity’
Matthews told The News: ‘The good thing for me was to get minutes at the back end of the season just to show what I can do and put my case forward to hopefully being involved in the World Cup.
‘After my injury, there were definitely times when I doubted I would get that opportunity, but now I am back in the camp and who knows what can happen.
‘My last involvement (with Australia) was in the October window, although I didn’t get any minutes. Then I missed out in November, while the March one was just when I was coming back from injury, so I missed out on that too.
‘I’ve been there before and they know me as a person and as a player. Now they have put that faith in me and trust me to give me the opportunity to hopefully show what I can do - and then I can go from there.
‘We do have a lot of quality centre-halves with Australia. There are 3-4 players in the Championship, one in Serie A, a couple playing in the MLS, so it’s one of our better positions. We have a lot of competition for spots.
‘It will be difficult, but I back myself and hopefully I can be involved in the World Cup come the time it starts.’
Matthews is among eight players who have been the first to arrive for the pre-training camp, which began on Monday.
Others include Harry Souttar (Leicester), Anthony Caceres (Macarthur FC), Mitchell Duke (Macarthur FC), Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney), Nick D’Agostino (Brisbane Roar), Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory) and Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City).
It has been a frustrating Championship season for the defender, who has featured just twice since sustaining ankle ligament damage at Bristol City on New Year’s Day.
14 Pompey appearances this season
Until he was handed Pompey starts in the final two fixtures, he had been named in just two of their previous 21 squads, an absence influenced by injury and also selection preference.
Overall, Matthews made 14 appearances in the 2025-26 campaign as the Blues retained their Championship status, finishing 18th.
Matthews added: ‘Definitely playing for Pompey at the end of the season has helped, it has allowed me to show a bit of quality.
‘When you’re not playing and not in squads, you don’t really know how that is being perceived by people - but coming back into the squad and playing the last two games definitely helps my case.’
The Socceroos, who are in Group D, kick off their World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 13, followed by fixtures with America (June 19) and Paraguay (June 25).
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