Buoyant Botic aims to spearhead Joeys' World Cup bid

After a stuttering start to the AFC Under-16 Championships in Malaysia, Australia striker Noah Botic is leading by example as coach Trevor Morgan’s rookies chase the top-four finish that would seal qualification for next year’s World Cup in Peru.

Noah scored the clincher in the 2-1 Group D win over Iraq, which followed a dispiriting 3-0 opening loss to Korea Republic, and the Rockdale City Suns marksman is now intent on puncturing Afghanistan on Friday evening in Kuala Lumpur to set up a quarter-final clash against Indonesia or India.

“We were a bit shaky against Korea but the win over Iraq (who played 50 minutes with 10 men) gave us a confidence boost and we still have a chance to make it out of the group stage,” said Botic, who has already trialled with Hajduk Split and is eyeing a return to Europe to chase his dreams.

“We haven’t had a lot of time together as a team to gel but we’re slowly getting there and will continue to grow as a team.”

Whether that growth spurt will lead Australia deep into the tournament remains to be seen but with group leaders Korea Republic on six points, victory against Afghanistan will suffice, so long as Iraq fail to defeat the Koreans in their final group match.

Australia struggled physically against a robust and ruthless Korea, who according to Botic showed “more strength and determination”.

The rebound against Iraq was timely, and Botic believes that a pointless Afghanistan will still provide a tricky test.

“I hope the boys understand that this won’t be an easy game and we need the victory,” he said.

“We will look to analyse them the best we can and to get the best possible result.

“The belief is building - and we’re now just two games away (from qualifying for Peru).

“We’ve been working so hard for this ... starting from when we went to Mongolia last year to start this journey.

“We’ve done well to get here but the job is not done yet.”

Looking beyond Malaysia, Botic - who played for NPL Rockdale’s under-18s last season - has Europe on his radar.

“I’m doing all I can to make that dream a reality,” he added.

“I’m waiting to see what comes up. Two years ago I trialled at Hajduk Split and I got asked to stay back but it was just too hard for us (as a family).”

Morgan sees Botic as a major threat to Afghanistan, and insists his team “are ready to go” and still have a lot of improvement in them.