It’s the headline act of the Australia Cup Round of 32: titleholders Melbourne Victory against Isuzu UTE A-League champions and local rivals Western United at AAMI Park on Wednesday night.
Victory winger and World Cup hopeful Ben Folami sees the Western clash as an opportunity for his side to build momentum off a promising performance against English giants Manchester United in July, whilst continuing his individual efforts to catch the attention of Socceroos boss Graham Arnold as Qatar 2022 draws nearer.
Folami made his debut for Australia against Japan along the qualification trail in March, off the back of a brilliant individual season at Victory in 2021-22, lifting the Australia Cup and venturing to the ALM semi-finals.
The 23-year-old got off to a flying start this pre-season with a magnificent assist to a Chris Ikonomidis strike against Manchester United which garnered worldwide attention.
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Now he’s eager to carry that form into the Australia Cup as Victory begin competitive action in 2022-23 on Wednesday night (kick-off 7.30pm AEST)
“It’s a massive start,” Folami said. “Two really big games to kick us off in this pre-season.
“We’re the defending champions, Western United is always a tough game and is always a team that is hard to get through and hard to play against. But we know what we want to do, we know how we have planned to play this game. We just have to go out and show it.
“The boys are in good physical shape, obviously the boss (Tony Popovic) has worked us hard as he always does… but we’re ready, we’re ready for any game now and hopefully we can get off to a good start and continue that form into the league.”
Folami is one of many Socceroos on the fringes of head coach Arnold’s thinking after Australia’s dramatic qualification to Qatar 2022; the Victory winger has not spoken to the Socceroos boss since – but knows every single one of his performances will contribute toward his chances of snatching a spot in the World Cup squad.
“For me personally it’s another reason to perform to the best of my ability,” Folami said. “All those things are good to know, (it’s) good to hear the national team is always watching is great, but ultimately I’m playing for Melbourne Victory. I want to give my best for them, and everything else that comes on top of that is a bonus.
“No (we haven’t spoken) – but I know he’s always watching. If they want to call up any of the players we’ll find out, but for us we’ve just got to focus here on Melbourne Victory at the moment, performing well here then as I said the rest will take care of itself if a situation arises like that, so we’ll see.”
Victory face Western on Wednesday night for the first time since falling to John Aloisi’s side in the 2021-22 ALM finals series over two semi-final legs.
Despite the departure of Marco Rojas to Chilean powerhouse Colo-Colo, Popovic has bolstered his attacking stocks by recruiting striker Tomi Juric, and former Manchester United star Luis Nani.
Folami says Nani’s training standards have helped to elevate his own, as he looks to emulate aspects of his approach to pre-season to accelerate his charge toward the 2022-23 ALM campaign.
“I’ve seen somebody who comes in every day and he’s always training at the highest possible quality, and giving his best,” Folami said. “He’s come back in amazing shape, he’s. A player we know can give us a lot.
“As I said before he’s a player we can all learn from. It’s a pleasure having him here with us and we know he’s going to bring a lot of quality throughout the season.”
Nani is in the frame to make his competitive Victory debut against Western on Wednesday night.
BUY TICKETS TO WESTERN v VICTORY IN THE AUSTRALIA CUP
MATCH DETAILS
Western United v Melbourne Victory
Wednesday, August 3
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Venue: AAMI Park
Broadcast: Live and free on 10 Play
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‘Nix fans set for first sight of Bulgarian international on Tasmanian stop in Aus Cup journey
Prized Wellington Phoenix recruit Bozhidar Kraev has travelled with Ufuk Talay’s Wellington Phoenix squad to Tasmania ahead of Wednesday night’s Australia Cup Round-of-32 date with Devonport City Strikers.
Kraev, 25, joined the ‘Nix from Danish club FC Midtjylland on a two-year contract with 24 senior international caps for Bulgaria to his name. The attacking midfielder is 186cm tall; with imposing height in midfield, Kraev is a different proposition for opponents to curtail to that presented by the likes of Ulises Dávila, Reno Piscopo and Gael Sandoval in the number 10 role for the ‘Nix in past seasons.
Fellow recruits Steven Ugarkovic and Lucas Mauragis, meanwhile, are cup-tied after playing for their former clubs in the playoff round.
Devonport sit first by nine points on the NPL Tasmania table in 2022, losing just one of 16 league fixtures to date.
MATCH DETAILS
Devonport City v Wellington Phoenix
Wednesday, August 3
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Venue: Valley Road Ground
Broadcast: Live and free on 10 Play
