On the road to the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2023, Alexander Badolato earned a taste of both European and Asian football while representing Australia in both Spain and Kuwait.
The contrasting set of experiences have the Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder confident as to what lies ahead in this month’s tournament, which kicks off against Vietnam this week (9pm AEDT).
“The experiences in U-20s so far have been really great,” Badolato said.
“We’ve learned a lot, especially in Spain, where we played against a lot of tough European opposition.
“We had to learn how to play against that, as opposed to the Asian teams, it was a completely different style.”
From playing against Morocco, Chile and England, to defeating India, Kuwait and Iraq, Badolato has grown familiar with the challenges of playing both with, and without, the majority of possession.
“We had to learn how to break down compact teams, when we had a lot more of the ball,” he shared.
“I think the Asian Cup is a bit of a unique challenge because it is hot over there, and also the teams know how to slow down with game management really well.
They can have really compact defences, they’ll let you have the ball but they also know how to counter-attack really well so it means you have got to be alert at all times.
“I guess the experiences have really helped us get to this point, and hopefully we can use them in this tournament.”
Badolato, 18, debuted for the Wanderers’ senior side at 16-years of age, marking his first appearance with a goal in the FFA Cup (now-Australia Cup) Round of 32.
He credits his experience since then playing against men, in both the A-Leagues and NPL NSW, for his continued development.
“Playing in the NPL and the A-Leagues has helped me because I have to do things pretty quickly because there are men there who are probably physically stronger than me,” he said.
“It means I have to be able to move the ball quickly and do things in limited amounts of space – I think that can help in Asia where, because the teams are structured so well, there’ll be limited space in the final third. That will all help because I’m used to having limited amounts of space in front of me.”
Badolato is one of four Wanderers selected in Trevor Morgan’s squad, alongside Alessandro Lopane, Jack Warshawsky and Aidan Simmons.
“It’s a proud moment for me and my family and the Wanderers club as a whole,” Badolato said.
“To play for Australia at an Asian Cup is a great honour and I want to give my best account of myself while I’m over there and hopefully help us win the whole tournament.”
All of the Subway Young Socceroos’ AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023™ matches will be streamed live and free on 10 Play. The tournament’s top-four nations – excluding Indonesia – will qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which kicks off in May.
