Bailey Wright capped a fine domestic season with promotion back to the Championship and has been awarded with an international call-up for his fine vein of form. The Black Cats defender will be part of the Socceroos' 29-man squad ahead of their World Cup play-off qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on June 8.
If the Yellow and Greens are triumphant, they'll face Peru for a place at the World Cup in Qatar. The 29-year-old has been in and out of the squad during the qualification process but he remained hopeful that his form with Sunderland would see him rewarded with another international call-up.
“Whenever squad selection comes around, you’re always eager to see if you’ve got a call-up and this time around, I was itching to see if I’d made the squad,” Wright told Socceroos.com.au. "You always want to be a part of it. Every time a squad comes around, the feeling and the buzz when you get called up never goes away.
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“I've obviously been part of camps previously. Some from the beginning, some called in as a player on standby to be a backup when we've had a couple of injuries or suspensions so whatever opportunity you get, it's always special. For these games coming up, I was itching to be a part of it. I made sure that my club form went well so Arnie [Graham Arnold] would have a bit of a selection headache and now I’m just looking forward to some massive games for us.”
Wright is no stranger to a World Cup play-off having made his debut for his country back in 2014. He played in both legs of the 2018 World Cup play-off qualifier against Honduras and is hoping that experience will play its part this time round.
“Over the course of your career, you become an experienced player,” Wright said. "The way you do that is by going through things like qualifying campaigns, things you go through at club football and high-pressure games.
"They're the sort of things that develop you as a person and as a player and we certainly have that in this group. We've got a group of leaders that all compliment each other and lead in their own ways.
“I think that's definitely important coming into these games because if I look back to the way Mile Jedinak led us through the Honduras game, it was important for a lot of us boys who hadn't experienced that. For these coming games, we have a good group of boys who were a part of that and have played in many big games.
“We have players who have played a lot of games for the Socceroos and that is important with a blend of young and hungry inexperienced players who can learn a lot from them.”
A number of the Socceroos camp have enjoyed a fine domestic season, Ajdin Hrustic won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt while Tom Rogic won the Scottish Premier League with Celtic FC. Wright himself played a huge part in Sunderland's promotion back to the Championship, he said: "It's good to see so many boys in good form, playing in important games and winning trophies.
"It’s good to see so many having great seasons and doing well because when you come into camp, it just sort of raises things to another level because boys are playing at a high standard and there is competition for places. There are so many positives to it, on the pitch and off the pitch. There's a real good feeling around the place when you see someone come in with a real buzz of what they've achieved."
