Devlin: How Scotland move 'changed me completely' 

Just weeks after representing Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Men's Football Tournament, Cameron Devlin secured a transfer that changed the course of his career. 

While his transfer to the Newcastle Jets had already been announced, a contractual clause allowed him to seal a move to Scotland before playing a match for the A-League Men's club. 

It was Heart of Midlothian who came calling, and soon became a platform for the Olyroos midfielder to endear himself as a fan favourite - and take his game to the next level. 

Speaking after his Subway Socceroos debut against New Zealand in Auckland, Devlin explained the benefits of his first move abroad. 

"I think it's changed me completely to be honest," he told Socceroos.com.au. "You're moving overseas to the unknown, and there weren't a lot of Aussies when I went over there - I was one of the only young ones at the time I started."

"I've never lived on my own before, so to do that, I think it changes you personally and makes you grow up - you have no choice. Then on the football side of things, it asks a lot more of your body and it matures not only yourself as a person, but your body and the way you play. 

I think I've developed on and off the pitch as much as I possibly could, I work as hard as I can every day and I'm absolutely loving it over there." 

"I'm so grateful to be there and get the opportunity and yeah can't wait to get stuck back into it and just try and make my case for World Cup." 

Socceroos home jersey 2022 - Our Story Is Never Done

Despite it being an away fixture on Sunday, Eden Park almost felt like home for the midfielder. 

Devlin's mother, father, eldest brother and niece were in the stands as he was introduced, something that made the moment 'extra special'. 

Also, he is no stranger to playing on Kiwi soil, having rose to prominence in professional football with the Wellington Phoenix. 

"I got the opportunity to be at Wellington under an Uffie (Ufuk Talay), I've played at Eden Park a few times and had a few special occasions here already,"  he explained. 

"So being back in front of a lot of 'Nix fans, when I went to warm up they were obviously making a bit of noise and were happy to see me. 

"To make my debut at Eden Park is that bit special, it's kind of where my career kickstarted and now where my hopefully long Socceroos career started as well." 

Heading into the game on the hour mark with the scoreline tight, the message from Graham Arnold was to 'just enjoy it'.

And despite his willingness to impress, the 24-year-old made a mature effort to stay grounded. 

"I think coming off the bench can be hard sometimes, but I had enough time to go out there and I just tried to tell myself to keep a calm head," he reflected.

"Obviously you have got a different jersey on to usual, which means a lot more, so I think it would be easy to get carried away, but I just kept telling myself, 'it's just another game, you're just wearing a different jersey'.

"I wanted to keep a cool head, to go out there play with a smile on my face like I always try and do; it's your debut for the national team, so doesn't get much better than that.

"You see that since you're a kid on the Socceroos social media, all players making their debut and just thinking 'imagine'... you don't really think that could be you one day." 

Create-Football-Account-Socceroos