Victorian-raised Garang Kuol made his Socceroos debut against New Zealand on September 25, completing a meteoric rise since making his first senior appearance for the Central Coast Mariners in late 2021.
The teenage sensation has burst onto the scene since making his debut, making 10 appearances off the bench for Central Coast, scoring four goals and making one assist.
On May 25, Kuol’s admiration rose through the roof when he delivered tenfold for the A-League All-Stars in their exhibition match against Barcelona FC.
In the lead-up to his debut, he said it was “amazing” to be named in the Australia squad.
“It’s a huge privilege to be here and I’ve always wanted to play for the Socceroos but never thought it would happen so early,” Kuol said.
“It’s just a proud moment for me and my family and I just want to prove myself and keep moving forward.
“I want to inspire young children to dream big and know the sky’s the limit.”
Socceroos’ head coach Graham Arnold was pleased with Kuol’s first minutes for the Socceroos, setting up Central Coast teammate and fellow debutant Jason Cummins for the opening goal.
“I think he showed some quality when he came on, but it is just the start,” Arnold said in his post-match press conference.
“He has so much more to learn; his body needs to build much more.
“I needed to let the kid relax and let him go out and enjoy it.
“I just asked him what colour shirt you play in each week, and he said yellow; I said it is the same shirt - just do what you normally do.”
On the post-match coverage, former Socceroo Bruce Djite gave a glowing endorsement for Kuol’s chances of claiming a spot in the squad for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
“There is definitely room for Garang Kuol if not him, a player similar to him,” he told Channel 10.
“There are 26 players to choose from why can’t he be one of them?
“Do you decide your team on the back of 20 minutes today or are you choosing your team on the back of how well they are continuing their season over the next six weeks… I think the latter.”
Goulburn Valley Suns FC coach Billy Marshall said Kuol should be “very proud” of what he has achieved so far and as should everyone who’s been involved in his journey.
“It is a fantastic story for us,” Marshall told Football Victoria.
“He was in my U16s team in 2020, always showed that natural ability, and was technically very good.
“He was around probably during the hardest time for us as a club because we just started and several players were playing multiple games a week.
“I think that helped their development because they got more minutes, every week we could see them improve because of that.
“It’s a credit to all associations and all junior clubs in Shepparton that Garang represented and a real team effort to help him along to ultimately end up where he is.”
Marshall said the club was in disbelief when the news broke of Kuol getting named in his maiden Socceroos squad.
“As a club, we were sending messages around to each other, we were absolutely rapped,” he said.
‘I sent him a message yesterday reminding him to keep his feet on the ground and keep working.
“It is important he keeps working because he has a long way to go.
“The way he is performing, and the media is talking about him the world is his oyster if he wants it.”