Albany soccer talent Connor Bunce selected for 14-man Pararoos squad to compete at IFCPF World Cup in Spain

Albany teenager and Polonia striker Connor Bunce will be part of Australia’s 14-man Pararoos squad that competes at the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football World Cup in Spain, which starts this week. The Albany speedster was announced in the Pararoos World Cup squad for the first time late last month and is set to make his debut at the tournament on Thursday against Iran at Futbol Salou Field at 9.30pm WA time. Bunce has scored a remarkable seven goals in his first nine international caps for Australia and the 18-year old young gun is looking forward to taking on a more attacking role at this major tournament. “I used to play right-wing which involved a lot more running and dribbling but now that I’ve been put up front, I’ve got less running to do because the attacking role is more mental,” he said. “With the right winger role, it was a lot of cutting in and shooting but with attacking it’s more about holding up play, laying it off to a midfielder or dragging the defender away so it’s a lot more technical. “I’ve got a lot of learning to do but I have a great bunch of blokes around me so hopefully I’ll be able to learn how to deal with this role and score some more goals.” Australia have been drawn in Group C and face off against the US and Iran. Each team will play each other once in the group stage to determine who advances to the next round. Quarterfinals, semifinals and then a final will be played to determine the World Cup winner. Bunce said the sacrifices his parents made have been integral to his journey to the top. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was six years old in Albany and I’ve definitely progressed a lot with all the help from the Albany coaches growing up,” he said. “It’s a great privilege that I’ve made it this far and it’s thanks to my parents for dealing with my disability the most, making me stronger physically and mentally. “Now that I’m finally going to be one of the top players in Paralympic football, it’s emotional especially for my parents knowing that they’ve finally got a prize out of it.” Australia currently sit 10th on the world rankings and Bunce said they are determined to crack the top 10. “Our main goal is to reach single digits in the world ranking and we have a great team for that,” he said. “I’m pumped to get out there and have a kick, it’s going to be a learning experience.” The Pararoos second match is against US on Saturday.