Junee football player Will McGrath (right) has returned home after debuting for the Pararoos at the IFCPFM World Cup. Photo: Football Wagga.
Junee football has been showcased on the world stage after one of its own Jaguars, Will McGrath, represented the Pararoos at the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football World Cup earlier this month.
Beginning on 6 November in Spain, the 18-day men’s competition saw each national team play three group games with the top two of each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Pararoos were given a tough group, coming up against the fourth-ranked USA team, the seventh-ranked Netherlands and the 13th-ranked Thailand side.
While the Pararoos’s first game of their World Cup campaign didn’t go to plan, losing 5-0 to the USA, Will McGrath did make his first appearance in Australian colours.
“It was such an incredible opportunity to represent my country,” Will said.
“The whole experience was incredible. I learnt so much and being able to put on the Australian jersey was a dream come true.”
After sustaining a slight hamstring injury in the game with the US, Will unfortunately found himself out of the next three games which included a 4-1 win over Thailand, a 0-2 loss to the Netherlands and a 1-3 extra time loss to Venezuela in the placement finals.
Despite three games on the sidelines, Will made his presence known in his return, scoring his first international goal in a 1-1 draw with Japan in a finals placement match.
“I learnt so much from that game,” Will said.
“I got an understanding of what it takes to play at that international level, the pace and the adjustments I need to make. It was obviously an incredible feeling scoring that first goal; it made me feel like I belong at the international level and gave me a lot of confidence.”
The Pararoos finished their campaign in 13th out of the 15 teams competing. However, it was the ParaMatildas who stole the show, winning Australia’s first football/soccer World Cup with a 6-2 win over former champions USA.
“It was such a great moment for Australian football to see the girls win the World Cup,” Will said.
“To come back after a slow start in the final, to win the game was incredible. They went through the entire tournament undefeated and showed just how big football has become in Australia.
“It shows that no matter where you are or where you play if you work hard and keep at it, you can do well. In the future, we would love to see more coverage for parasports and I think by playing well and producing more and more successful tournaments, we are on our way to do that.”
Will McGrath will soon be representing Australia on the world stage at the Asia Cup towards the end of 2025.
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