Jordan Bos: ‘Every boy dreams of playing at the World Cup’

‘My father is from Wierden, a small village near Almelo where everyone knows each other. When I was younger, we used to visit every few years during the holidays and stay with family. I especially enjoyed going in winter because there was a chance of seeing snow, something we didn’t have in Australia.’

‘My father also played football in Wierden, for SVZW. He even played for the first team, mainly as a midfielder. He always said he had plenty of talent, but that his mentality let him down. If a coach told him something, he wouldn’t listen or would get angry. The stories he told me about that were actually a motivation for me to become mentally strong. I see that as one of my qualities now, although I think that mental strength is also something I naturally possess.’

‘When I moved from Melbourne City to Westerlo in Belgium in 2023, it was nice that my father’s family lived relatively close by, even though it was still nearly a three-hour drive. My uncles and aunts would sometimes visit me, or I would go and see them. That always felt familiar. Still, I found it difficult at first because it was the first time I was really on my own. During those first few months in Belgium, I experienced some homesickness. I tried to stay in touch with my parents as much as possible, but because of the eight-to-ten-hour time difference, depending on the time of year, that wasn’t always easy. In the end, moving to the other side of the world, where everything is different from what you’re used to, is a huge step. After training, I sometimes found it difficult to come home to an empty apartment, but I always reminded myself that I had worked my whole life for the opportunity to become a professional footballer in Europe.’

‘Fortunately, everything worked out well at Westerlo. I developed a lot as a player there, which was necessary because the level of football in Belgium is higher than in Australia. Another source of motivation was that, quite literally, I was closer to Feyenoord. I knew there was a greater chance of coming onto the club’s radar than when I was still playing for Melbourne City. Even so, I was very surprised when Feyenoord showed interest last summer because I had only just returned from a fairly long injury layoff. I had been out for several months after hamstring surgery, so I wasn’t expecting any interest. I had more or less decided to stay at Westerlo for a third season when my agent told me Feyenoord were watching me. From that moment, everything happened very quickly, partly because Feyenoord had Champions League qualifiers coming up. Before I knew it, I was in Rotterdam signing my contract.’

‘My father was heavily involved throughout that transfer. Feyenoord is the club he continued to follow from Australia, and he really wanted the move to happen. It was a very exciting period for all of us. At the same time, you wouldn’t really have noticed that from my father because he’s quite down-to-earth – typically Dutch, perhaps.’

‘The step from Westerlo to Feyenoord was smaller for me than the move from Melbourne to Westerlo. I needed less time to adapt and quickly felt at home in Rotterdam. That was one of the reasons why things went so well during the first few months. We won almost every league match, and in September I was named Eredivisie Player of the Month.’

‘From the home game against PSV at the end of October, which we lost 2-3, things became more difficult in terms of results. I also picked up an injury myself, and it was tough having to watch that difficult period from the sidelines. To be honest, I can’t point to one specific reason why our results suddenly declined. In the end, it was a demanding season with plenty of ups and downs.’

‘For me, there was also all the travelling for Australia, including World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup. It takes around 24 hours to get from the Netherlands to Australia, which is always tough on the body. I always do some mobility work after arriving, but there’s no secret formula for dealing with such a long journey. It helps that one of the performance coaches with the national team, Leigh Egger, previously worked at Feyenoord. He is in close contact with the club’s staff and works hard to keep me fit. That has been very beneficial.’

‘What I learned most from last season is that you must continue to play with confidence, even in difficult circumstances. It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself or let your head drop during tough periods, but that’s exactly when you need to keep giving everything and trust yourself. For me, that means continuing to play with a forward-thinking mindset, taking on defenders and creating danger. If I stopped doing those things, I wouldn’t be myself anymore.’

‘Considering how our season unfolded, finishing second was a good result for us. Qualifying directly for next season’s Champions League is hugely important, and I’m looking forward to that. But first, my focus is on the World Cup with Australia. If you ask me about my goal, I’ll say I want to win the tournament. That may sound overly ambitious, but anything can happen at a World Cup. You only need to win a handful of matches and suddenly you’re in the final.’

‘Every boy dreams of playing at a World Cup and representing his country. As a kid, I would sometimes sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to watch World Cup matches on television. My parents obviously didn’t approve because I had school the next morning. They got quite a fright one night when they found me sitting alone in the dark living room because they weren’t expecting anyone to be downstairs.’

‘One of the World Cup moments I remember most vividly is Tim Cahill’s goal for Australia against the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup. After a long pass, he struck it first-time and smashed it in off the underside of the crossbar. I genuinely think it’s special that I now get the chance to take part in that tournament myself with Australia. It’s truly a childhood dream come true.’