Young Socceroos attacker Awer Mabil says he can't wait to pull on the Green and Gold.
Young Socceroos attacker Awer Mabil says he can't wait to pull on the Green and Gold and hopes to one day to bring out his dancing goal celebration for Australia at the World Cup.
The Adelaide United teenager is currently in camp in Sydney with Paul Okon's squad as they build towards the AFC Under-19 Championship in October in Myanmar.
It's the first step in achieving a boyhood dream for Kenyan-born Mabil, who spent most of his childhood in a refugee camp before arriving Down Under back in 2006.
Mabil only recently received his international clearance to be eligible to represent Australia and admits it will be a proud day when he can finally play for his new homeland.
"There's nothing better than representing your country," Mabil told footballaustralia.com.au at the squad's Sydney training base on Monday.
"I've been raised here, spent half of my life here now so I'm really looking forward to playing with Australia. It was a long process. Sending forms to Africa, getting them back then sending them to FIFA.
"It was back and forth but thankfully it's done now. I always believed it would work out. If you keep pushing and do everything you have to do I thought it would get through."
And with the paperwork finally ticked off and rubber-stamped, Mabil can now make that dream a reality with the Young Socceroos.
The 18-year-old is excited by the talent in the playing group and hopes he can bring some of the pace and flair we've seen with the Reds to the national set-up. But he's not getting carried away when talk turns to one day progressing to the Socceroos.
"You can't think too much ahead of yourself," he said.
"You just have to work hard, for any level of national team, whether it's under 20s, 23s or Socceroos.
"But I definitely hope to push for Socceroos one day. Hopefully you'll see (my dancing goal-celebration) for the Socceroos one day in the World Cup. That would be a dream come true. I'll just do whatever I have to do for the team."
The Young Socceroos squad will take on NSW Premier League club Sydney Olympic in a friendly on Wednesday night as they continue their preparations for October's tournament.