Sydney FC defender Alex Grant hasn’t given up hope of playing for the Socceroos at next year’s FIFA World Cup but knows he needs a strong A-League season to have any chance of being recalled to the national squad.
The uncapped Grant was part of Australia’s squad for the March international window but has since been overlooked by national coach Tony Popovic.
“If I was to be chosen or picked for another camp, that would be an amazing opportunity for me,” the 31-year-old centre-back said.
“If it’s still on the cards then I’d never rule it out, but I’ve got to focus first and foremost on performing for Sydney. That’s the only way I’m going to get a sniff.
“I’ll just take it week by week, and hopefully ‘Poppa’ has a look.”
A strong performance from Grant in Sydney’s “Big Blue” battle against Melbourne Victory would certainly get the attention of Popovic, whose squad for this month’s international window contained five A-League players.
“When you’re going into this game, with it being such a big game on the scale of A-League fixtures, you’ve just got to be mindful that if you do make a mistake, they can pounce on that, so we’ve just got to be mentally prepared,” Grant said ahead of Saturday night’s battle at Leichhardt Oval.
“We’ve got a game plan, but they’ve got quality within their team that can cause us problems.”
After a shaky start to the season with a 2-1 opening-round loss to Adelaide United, the Sky Blues have bounced back with three successive wins that have been helped by Grant’s blossoming partnership with fellow central defender and former Congo international Marcel Tisserand.
“Marcel came in a little bit underdone and I was coming off the back of last season with an injury as well, so everyone was probably a little sceptical to how we’d go early doors with whether our bodies would be able to hold up,” Grant said.
“We’ve taken it game by game, and in all fairness, I feel like we’ve done pretty well, and throughout the whole team, we’ve looked pretty solid.
“As the season progresses, it will only get better.”
Among Grant’s fans on Saturday night will be his son Harry, whose football allegiances are firmly with the Sky Blues despite his favourite rugby league team being Melbourne due to him having the same name as the Storm’s skipper, Harry Grant.
“He’s got a Melbourne Storm jersey and he’s worn it a few times, so he’s telling me that’s his favourite team,” Alex said.
“Having a little one with the same name as Harry Grant, that obviously prick’s a few ears up when you’re talking to a few fans of the NRL, and it’s a good conversation starter.”
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