'It was a big weight lifted off': Mooy reflects on decade of Socceroos experiences
On the 7th of December 2012, a young, blonde, 21-year-old from Sydney stepped out in senior national team colours for the very first time.
Fast forward to the present day and Aaron Mooy has become one of the most accomplished Socceroo midfielders of his era, amassing 50 caps for his country.
Scoring twice in his two games for the Green and Gold when facing Guam and Chinese Tapei, the youngster had been turning heads in his inaugural A-League Men's season with Western Sydney Wanderers, before moving to Melbourne City.
Across two years at the Melbourne club, the now 31-year-old set countless records, racking up over 17 goals and over 20 assists in one season, leading to a move to sister club Manchester City.
Now plying his trade in China, the dynamic midfielder was able to finally make his half-century for Australia when he lined up against Jordan ahead of the Socceroos' vital play-offs against UAE and Peru.
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Sitting alongside Aziz Behich, who also picked up his 50th Socceroos cap earlier this month, Mooy reflected on making an illustrious achievement.
"It's always a dream to play for Australia and I still remember my first cap like it was yesterday," Mooy said.
"I feel very lucky and privileged to be able to wear that jersey like many times, so I am proud to get to 50.
The 31-year-old reflected on how it felt to make his debut in Green and Gold colours and just how special it was to score on his debut against Guam.
"When you get the sniff of the national team when you are young, that's the goal, isn't it? It was in the East Asian Cup" Mooy stated.
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Back in November of 2017, the Socceroos were once again on the path of Intercontinental qualification for the FIFA World Cup and Aaron Mooy spoke about how relieved he felt after Australia defeated Honduras 3-1 in Sydney.
"Once we qualified, I felt like it was a big weight lifted off of me," Mooy stated
"The previous generations had qualified and I didn't want to be a part of a squad that didn't.
"The first game was against France (at the 2018 FIFA World Cup) who were the champions and it was a close game, the National Anthem at the start was an emotional thing for me and I won't forget that feeling.
"It's been a tricky process and for me it will probably be my last go at trying to get to the World Cup, so for me I am making sure I'm trying to do everything possible to be there and have no regrets."
Aaron Mooy - 49 games (7 goals)
Cap 1 December 7th, 2012 Australia v Guam EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round (Goal 1)
Cap 2 December 9th, 2012 Australia v Chinese Taipei EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round (Goal 2)
Cap 3 July 28th, 2013 v China EAFF East Asian Cup Final Round (Goal 3)
Cap 4 November 18th, 2014 v Japan (Friendly)
Cap 5 March 25th, 2015 v Germany (Friendly)
Cap 6 March 30th, 2015 v Macedonia (Friendly)
Cap 7 September 3rd, 2015 v Bangladesh, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2 (Goal 4)
Cap 8 September 8th, 2015 v Tajikistan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 9 October 8th, 2015 v Jordan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 10 November 12th, 2015 v Krygyzstan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier- Round 2
Cap 11 November 17th, 2015 v Bangladesh, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 12 March 24th, 2016 v Tajikistan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 13 March 29th, 2016 v Jordan FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2 (Goal 5)
Cap 14 May 27th, 2016 v England (Friendly)
Cap 15 June 4th, 2016 v Greece (Friendly)
Cap 16 June 7th, 2016 v Greece (Friendly)
Cap 17 September 1st, 2016 v Iraq, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 18 September 6th, 2016 v UAE, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 19 October 6th, 2016 v Saudi Arabia, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 20 October 11th, 2016 v Japan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 21 October 15th, 2016 v Thailand, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 22 March 23rd, 2017 v Iraq, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 23 June 8th, 2017 v Saudi Arabia, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 24 June 13th, 2017 v Brazil (Friendly)
Cap 25 June 19th, 2017 v Germany, FIFA Confederations Cup
Cap 26 June 22nd, 2017 v Cameroon, FIFA Confederations Cup
Cap 27 September 5th, 2017, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 28 October 5th, 2017 v Syria, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Continental play-off
Cap 29 October 10th, 2017 v Syria, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Continental play-off
Cap 30 November 10th, 2017 v Honduras FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Intercontinental play-off
Cap 31 November 15th, 2017 v Honduras FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Intercontinental play-off
Cap 32 March 23rd, 2018 v Norway (Friendly)
Cap 33 June 1st, 2018 v Czech Republic (Friendly)
Cap 34 June 9th, 2018 v Hungary (Friendly)
Cap 35 June 16th, 2018 v France - FIFA World Cup - Group stage
Cap 36 June 21st, 2018 v Denmark - FIFA World Cup - Group stage
Cap 37 June 26th, 2018 v Peru - FIFA World Cup - Group stage
Cap 38 November 17th, 2018 v Korea Republic (Friendly)
Cap 39 November 20th, 2018 v Lebanon (Friendly)
Cap 40 September 10th, 2019 v Kuwait, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2 (Goal 6)
Cap 41 October 10th, 2019 v Nepal FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 42 October 15th, 2019 v Chinese Taipei, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 43 November 14th, 2019 v Jordan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 2
Cap 44 September 2nd, 2021 v China, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 45 September 7th, 2021 v Vietnam, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 46 October 7th, 2021 v Oman, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 47 October 12th, 2021 v Japan, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 48 January 27th v Vietnam, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - Round 3
Cap 49 February 1st v Oman, FIFA World Cup Qualifier - (Goal 7)
