- The Central Coast star is the lowest footballer in any code
- The A-League has been divided this season
- Rewarded with dream Socceroos call-up
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Big things can come in small packages, as diminutive Australian midfielder Josh Nisbet demonstrated after he was first called up to the Socceroos by coach Graham Arnold.
Standing at just 160cm (just under 5′2″), Nisbet is easily Australia’s shortest footballer, by any code.
Now, after a childhood tortured by other children calling him a dwarf and a runt, Nisbet has defied everyone who said he was too small to survive.
The electric Central Coast Mariners star has been called up to the Socceroos squad for their upcoming two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon after knocking down the door in the domestic A-League.
The 24-year-old midfielder, arguably the A-League’s most in-form player, replaces his former Mariners teammate Lewis Miller.
Right-back Miller suffered a hamstring injury while playing for his Scottish club Hibernian on Thursday morning.
Nisbet leads the A-League in assists and has found the back of the net in two recent wins.
Nisbet, who had not yet been selected, was considered an unfortunate omission from the original 25-man squad announced on Thursday by Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
But after topping the A-League assists chart with seven and scoring in consecutive league matches this month with goals against Newcastle Jets and Macarthur, his form was too much for national coach Graham Arnold to ignore.
“The boy has done fantastic.” Arnold said of Nisbet.
Australia host Lebanon on Thursday night at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium, before the teams meet again on Tuesday week in Canberra.
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold likes what he has seen from Nisbet, despite his height.
Nisbet will leave next season for Melbourne City, the team he helped dismantle in the A-League grand final last season.
Nisbet, who was out of contract at the end of this season, had been questioned for his diminutive stature but has proven his detractors wrong with the PFA Player of the Month award twice in a row and now with a call-up to the Socceroos squad. Arnold.
He also helped the Mariners to a record inter-zonal final against FK Abdish-Ata Kant in the AFC Cup.
The Socceroos top Group I of the Asian Football Confederation’s second round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with six points from two games.
Lebanon are in second place, four points behind the Australians in a group that also includes Palestine and Bangladesh, who have one point each.
The top two nations from each of the nine groups will advance to the third qualifying round. where the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six.
Socceroos Squad: Nathaniel Atkinson, Keanu Baccus, Brandon Borrello, Jordy Bos, Cameron Burgess. Thomas Deng, Mitchell Duke, Bruno Fornaroli, Joe Gauci, Thomas Glover, Craig Goodwin, Ajdin Hrustic, John Iredale, Jackson Irvine, Gethin Jones, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Josh Nisbet, Kye Rowles, Mathew Ryan, Sam Silvera, Harry Souttar , Adam Taggart, Patrick Yazbek, Kusini Yengi.