The next generation of CommBank Socceroos ready to take on the world

Paul Okon-Engstler, Alessandro Circati and Jacob Italiano are part of a fearless new generation of Australian footballers emerging onto the world stage, young talents who could become household names across the country come June.

As the CommBank Socceroos build towards a new era, the trio embodies the future of Australian football - technically gifted and driven by the people who helped shape them long before the bright lights of international competition.

For Okon-Engstler, football has never just been a dream. It’s been part of the family furniture.

His father, former Socceroos captain and now CommBank Socceroos assistant coach Paul Okon, helped shape the way he understands the game from the time he first kicked a ball. But as the younger Okon-Engstler begins carving out his own identity in green and gold, he says their relationship has been built on honesty rather than sentiment.

“Obviously he's my father at the end of the day,” Okon-Engstler said.

“But he's always been such a big inspiration for me and for my brothers.”

For one of Australia’s brightest emerging football talents, growing up around elite football has helped shape not just Okon-Engstler’s game, but the mentality needed to survive at the highest level.

“Away from football, he's my father,” he said.

“But anything to do with football, he's honest. He gives his honest opinion and what he thinks we need to improve on.”

“He doesn't really look at it from an emotional standpoint. I think he just looks at it from a coach's eye. I'm just very lucky to have him.”

That passing of knowledge from one generation to the next is becoming a defining feature of the modern CommBank Socceroos, with young Australians leaning on experienced figures as they prepare for the pressure and expectation of international football.

For Alessandro Circati, one of those influences has been long-time Socceroos goalkeeper Maty Ryan.

For Circati, one conversation with captain and veteran goalkeeper Ryan, before his first game in green and gold became a defining moment.

“Before my debut, Maty Ryan, he had a chat to me on the bus actually before the game,” Circati said.

“Maty's the most experienced player in the squad. So, when he does pull you for a chat, when he gives you a bit of advice, it gives you some sort of sense of importance.

“You know, it means that he does care about you. He's confident in your ability to not really change who you are, just to play how you play.

“And that's what I did.”

For Jacob Italiano, who plies his trade for Austrian Bundesliga club Grazer AK, warmth inside the national team environment immediately eased the pressure.

“I've been in one camp before and to be honest, everyone was so welcoming,” Italiano said.

“Everyone put an arm around me. They all made me feel very welcome.

“I never at one point felt like I didn't belong in the group.”

That sense of belonging is helping shape a new generation of Australian footballers now scattered across Europe but still deeply connected to home.

Many of Australia’s brightest young talents left home early, trading comfort and familiarity for the relentless demands of European football in pursuit of careers at the highest level.

Okon-Englster who spent his youth at Club Brugge and Benfica said those sacrifices have only strengthened his connection to Australia.

“I've had to move halfway across the world,” he said.

“I've had to live away from my family for periods. Those are just sacrifices that I've had to make for football and I think they're all worthwhile and they're paying off slowly.”

Circati, now based in Italy as a defender for Parma, says it is not lost on him how fortunate he is to not only be playing football but representing his country at the highest level.

“As a kid, my dream was just to play football,” Circati said.

“It wasn't to be a Socceroo, wasn't to play anywhere else, just to be able to play football as a job. And now that I'm living in Italy, being able to travel back to Australia to represent the CommBank Socceroos and Australia, it does feel more special."

“When I'm back home, I do feel a deeper, stronger connection.”

For Italiano, wearing the CommBank Socceroos jersey is still the dream that drives everything.

“I've probably sacrificed a lot and it's taken maybe a little bit longer than I would have would have hoped,” the right-back said.

“Now that it's here. It's all worth it. I would do it all a million times over, just to get this opportunity.”