‘In my head, I had to show people and earn it’: Harry Souttar on rising above self-doubt with Socceroos

Harry Souttar stands out in Australian football. Not just because he’s more than 2 metres tall, either.

Ever since scoring a brace on debut in a World Cup qualifier against Nepal, the towering Scottish-born defender has become just as much a constant in the hearts and minds of Australian fans as he has the starting XI of coach Graham Arnold. That’s to say nothing of an internet culture that gives him insight into this growing affection.

“The first one that I’ve seen was the big Australian cow,” Souttar says with a laugh. “That was the one that sticks in my mind”.

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A few days before Souttar and the squad travelled on to Doha for the Asian Cup, sitting in a spare room that the Socceroos have converted into a makeshift media centre at their accommodations, the 25-year-old speaks with an air of assuredness, reflecting on roads both travelled and to come. He presents as a player who has not only become accustomed to handling the spotlight that comes with the national setup but as someone fully committed to the “family” atmosphere that Arnold has fashioned into a fundamental part of his tenure.

“It’s a really tight-knit group,” Souttar says. “It’s so hard to get that but when you’ve got it the feeling is so strong. Knowing when you go on to the park that you’ve got that kind of bond together, it’s a very, very special feeling.”

One of the newer fascinations among the “family” is darts, with Souttar part of a cohort that stayed up to watch the World Darts Championship. “Probably don’t tell Arnie that,” he says. There’s talk of a darts tournament being staged once the team gets to Qatar, with some bragging rights already having gone on the line.

“I’ve just beat Riley McGree 3-0,” Souttar says. “So if you speak to him, just ask him about it.”

Finding this level of ease, however, has been a process for Souttar. He recalls how when he first got into a senior camp, he felt something of a responsibility to prove himself to not just Socceroos supporters, but also his own teammates.

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Born in and playing for Scotland at the junior international level, he carried a desire to prove that he was all-in on representing the land of his mother’s birth, of demonstrating to leaders such as Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic that he heard them and understood what this privilege entailed, and that being a Socceroo wasn’t just what he wanted to be, but what he was supposed to be.

“I think in my head, I had to show people and earn it a little bit,” Souttar says. “I feel I’ve probably not just done that fully, but I think I’m on the right track. It was probably in my head that I had to, not just for the fans but my teammates as well, when I first came into camp, to show them as well. I’d like to think I’ve kind of done that over my four years now.”

Surely, nobody is doubting Souttar now, nor his importance to the team; a future captain who is simultaneously his nation’s standout defender and one of its most potent goal-scoring threats on set pieces – his 10 international goals the equal-most of any Australian player since his debut.

It was in Doha that Souttar, with very little football under his belt after a torn ACL a year prior, went from an appreciated member of the Socceroos to beloved; a dominating defensive display in a 1-0 World Cup win over Tunisia described by teammate Jackson Irvine as one of “the best individual displays [for Australia] I’ve ever seen.”

Souttar’s performances at that World Cup led to a £15m move from Stoke to Leicester City, one that has since turned somewhat sour after the Foxes relegation to the Championship and the replacement of Brenden Rodgers with Enzo Maresca. Behind the likes of Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard in the pecking order, Souttar has played just one league game this season and observes that when the team is flying as Leicester currently is, it’s difficult to break into the team. “It’s been a frustrating time,” he says.

But discussions on his club future, he says, are for later, as his focus right now is on representing the Socceroos at an AFC Asian Cup. That’s a goal that has driven him to keep putting in the work, day after day, during his long spell on the sidelines in the Midlands.

“Knowing that the Asian Cup was always around the corner … it was always kind of just try and get yourself as fit as you can,” Souttar says. “Even though you’re not going to be playing a lot, do extra sessions here and there and keep yourself as top fit as best you can. I’ve worked so hard to get here, so my full concentration is on the next month and a half.”

• Australia start their Asian Cup campaign against India on 13 January. Follow updates with our live blog from 10pm AEDT