Finally fit again, Socceroos defender Milos Degenek will leave no stone unturned in his bid for a third FIFA World Cup finals appearance.
Slated to take on Bahrain this Wednesday morning (AEDT), the 30-year-old is bent on making his first international appearance since 2023 after being selected in Tony Popovic's squad for the 2026 qualifiers.
His recall comes after a year out of the game, first sidelined after rupturing his left achilles tendon before a heel injury ruled him out for eight months.
Serbian-based Degenek had only just returned to playing club football for Red Star Belgrade before Popovic called on his services.
Though the centre-back did not feature in their goalless draw with Saudi Arabia last Thursday, Degenek says he has set his sights on going all the way to the 2026 tournament.
"It means more than ever because I'm getting older. I'm not getting younger, and there's a lot of younger boys around here," Degenek said.
"It means more than ever to me because I'd love to be able to go to a third World Cup.
"I think that's something very special and not many players have done that.
"Coming into this camp, I feel like it's my first camp, as it was under Ange (Postecoglou) back in England when it was almost 10 years ago."
Degenek hopes to line up against Bahrain but says his aspirations in the Socceroos camp isn't just limited to game time.
"One of the main motivations for me was the fact that I could be part of something special again," Degenek said.
"Obviously, I'd like to play every game like everyone else, but I'd like to be someone here that these younger boys can look up to.
"When I was coming in, I had (former Socceroos captain) Mile Jedinak.
"Even to this day, I reach out to Mile every time I need something, whether it's a piece of advice, whether it's just a message or a call.
"In this big world of football, he's the most valuable person that I've met and the person that I care about in a certain way the most about.
"I want (the younger Socceroos) to have that in me."
Australia remains second in Group C behind leaders Japan (13 points), sharing six points with Saudi Arabia and China after one win, three draws and one loss.
Bahrain (five) are fifth out of six teams with Indonesia bottom in three points.
Only the top two teams will earn direct qualification for 2026 while third and fourth go into another round of qualifying.
Bahrain clinched a shock 1-0 win against the Socceroos on the Gold Coast in September but Degenek believes the match is no longer relevant.
"You can't have an impact on what happened before. You can have an impact on what's going to happen on Tuesday," Degenek said.
"It's disappointing but it's not that disappointing that, yeah, you're going to be negative and you're going to dwell on the fact that we haven't made a good start.
"It's about getting the boys to know that it's all in our hands.
"If we win every game from now until June, we go to a World Cup."
