CommBank Young Socceroos utility Fabian Talladira admits they can draw on the belief and confidence the squad gained from their Asian Cup triumph heading into their next challenge, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™.
The Adelaide United midfielder-come-defender also discussed the togetherness within the group, his thoughts on their upcoming opponents and the team's playing philosophy under head coach Trevor Morgan.
A strong camaraderie within the squad
First of all it's a great group of boys. We all enjoy each other's company. So even at the Asian Cup, everyone was happy, we were having a good time, we were enjoying our football, which is the main thing. And I felt like when we were enjoying our football, we played our best football. So it was just really free flowing, and like I said, a good group of boys, which helped a lot, and it was just a great time away.
Winning Asian Cup increased confidence
It gave us heaps of confidence. I mean, we're already obviously confident, but winning it gave us, I think that bit of a boost, which is great. I mean to qualify for a World Cup is a big thing. And not only to qualify, but to win the Asian Cup was massive. I just think the confidence now as a team we have coming into the World Cup is huge.
Reflections on Iraq match to qualify but fully focussed on the present
Of course, when we look back at that game, especially, you get that joy and that excitement again. But now coming into the World Cup, we're here, and we know we've got another job to do. And winning the Asian Cup, yes, it was great and other countries may look at that and say, 'these are the Asian champions', but to us, that's one thing we've conquered, and now we're here to conquer another thing.
Impression of the Group Stage
I was quite excited actually, my grandparents are Italian. My parents are Italian, so to face them (Italy) in the first game, I think would be pretty cool. And then obviously, Argentina, we played them a few months ago. We've got a bit of a sense of how they are. And Cuba, don't know too much about them. But again, that'll be another test. It's a World Cup, so we expect the best.
Style of play
I think that's another great thing about our team. We're very fluent with how we play. We have many different ways we can play, and it's enjoyable to play where you've sort of got a free role. You know what you have got to do defensively and going forward, of course. But then it's for you to find what works best in that game. So I think it's just very free to play sort of thing.
MATCH SCHEDULE | FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP CHILE 2025™
Italy v Australia
Date: Sunday, 28 September 2025 / Monday, 29 September 2025 (AUS)
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 6.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile
Broadcast: Live on SBS and SBS On Demand
Argentina v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 1 October 2025 / Thursday, 2 October 2025 (AUS)
Time: 8.00pm (local) / 9.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso, Chile
Broadcast: Live on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia v Cuba
Date: Saturday, 4 October 2025 / Sunday, 5 October 2025 (AUS)
Time: 8.00pm (local) / 10.00am (AEDT)
Venue: Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile
Broadcast: Live on SBS and SBS On Demand