Socceroos: Max Balard eager to make Socceroos debut
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Fresh from a satisfying debut season in European club football, former Central Coast Mariners star Max Balard is eager to graduate from fringe Socceroo to midfield regular in Australia's line-up.
Balard, 24, said he had 'improved immensely' from playing for Dutch club NAC Breda in the Eredivisie, the highest level of football in the Netherlands.
'My growth has gone amazing,' Balard said from the UAE, where he is part of a training squad assembled by national team coach Tony Popovic ahead of the Socceroos' FIFA World Cup qualifiers next month against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
'The speed of the game in the Netherlands is a lot quicker than what I had experienced in Australia, and thankfully, I am at a club where they give me my opportunity to play.
'It's helped me improve my game even more, both physically and technically. It's an experience that I've really taken with both hands.'
Balard started in 33 of NAC Breda's 34 Eredivisie games in the 2024-25 season, and was also a starter in the club's only Dutch Cup match.
'I'm very grateful to the club for giving me my opportunity in such an amazing league with amazing players, where you're playing against Dutch internationals every second week pretty much,' he said.
'I feel like I've still got a lot of progress to do. I'm very excited for what the future holds.'
The immediate future could include a maiden Socceroos cap in the upcoming weeks.
It's an honour many feel is overdue, but Balard is just grateful to be given the chance by Popovic to prove himself at the current training camp.
'I'm really happy to be here,' he said.
'I'm really looking forward to showing that I'm a player that deserves to be here and that I'm ready to play.'
With Socceroos star Jackson Irvine sidelined with a foot injury, there is a vacancy in Australia's midfield.
And while Balard acknowledged that his style of play differed to Irvine's, he was confident of being able to play an important role in the Socceroos' engine room if given the chance.
'I'm more of a defensive-type style (of midfielder that Irvine), so I like to get on the ball, build up, and play like that, but I also have the qualities to get in around the edge of the box and score,' he said.
'`Jacko' has been immense for the national team for many years now, and to see him go down was unfortunate because you never want to see any players go down.
'You want our country to have our best players ready to play. He's been incredible … (but) I definitely understand that there's an opportunity, and I'm working hard every day to make sure that I put my best foot forward and show the coaches what I can do.'
Originally published as Dutch delight has Max Balard confident of success at international level
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