The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now mere months away, with Mexico’s clash with South Africa on June 11 helping to raise the curtain on the ultimate sporting tournament – and one Swansea star could be there.
Australia will be one of 48 nations battling it out in the United States, Canada and Mexico, bidding to lift the most iconic trophy in sport along with the likes of France, Argentina, Spain, England and Brazil all among the favourites for eternal glory.
Ahead of the tournament, all eyes will be on players hitting form at the right time whilst staving off injuries. One Aussie that will hope to shine and book a spot at the World Cup Finals is Swansea’s Cameron Burgess.
The centre-back has been a mainstay of this Swans backline in the Championship this season. Burgess has been a key cog in trying to stem the flow of goals hitting the back of the Swans’ net with an impressive defensive record across the campaign.
While Burgess is not the only reason why the Swans have suddenly found some form of defensive solidity as they forge up the Championship table, the upturn in defensive fortitude of the Welsh side only bodes well for the Aussies this summer.
For his national team, Burgess has made a total of 23 appearances with the 30-year-old coming into his own over the last few years. It means Burgess will almost certainly be a part of the Australian side to take to the World Cup this summer.
Across 2025, Burgess played the full 90 minutes in four World Cup qualifying matches as the Socceroos beat Indonesia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. He also appeared in six friendly matches, playing the whole game five times.
At the World Cup, defensive solidity will almost certainly be the first port of call for most teams. Keeping clean sheets and ensuring a nation takes at least a point from a match is vital. This simply means that having dependable defenders that make the right decision more often then not is crucial.
While not blessed with anything close to searing pace, Burgess is a physically strong central defender that uses his six-foot four-inch frame to his advantage.
Having a centre-back that relishes an aerial battle is incredibly important, particularly in the dying embers of World Cup games or in the knockout rounds, balls into the box will become even more prevalent as teams search for goals.
While playing against the outright pace of a player like Kylian Mbappe would not likely play into his defensive strengths, it is worth noting there are few defenders that would willing take on someone like the French star in a foot-race.
Instead, in games against better opposition like France, the Aussies would likely sit deep, trying to close the space in the defensive third. Cutting the space a top team has to play with means balls in behind into masses of space are less frequent, meaning a central-defender like Burgess really comes into his own.
At the 2022 World Cup, Australia battled through what was seen as one of the tougher groups at the tournament. Finishing second in a group that included France, Tunisia and Denmark was very impressive.
However, defensive solidity against the best was not their forte. Indeed, a pair of 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark followed on from a comfortable 4-1 loss to France as they were cut open.
Despite that loss, this is exactly the sort of fixture that Burgess will relish. While Swansea play in the most competitive secondary competition in football, the quality of opponent will be a massive step up this summer.
Players want to test themselves against the best, and arguably Australia’s best central defender will want to try to do a job on the best at the tournament where the Socceroos have been given a favourable draw.
Against the USA, Paraguay and one other yet-to-be-decided opponent, the Aussies will fancy their chances, with current World Cup betting markets pricing them strongly to progress.
They may have lost two previous friendlies against the USA, but they are unbeaten against Paraguay, winning twice and drawing once.
They also seem to save their best for the World Cup, with their excellent run in 2022’s iteration of the tournament seeing the Aussies push eventual champions Argentina all the way in a 2-1 loss in the Round of 16.
Whether they can seriously compete at the tournament in 2026 remains to be seen. However, if they can get out of their group by utilising defensive solidity, then this will only see Burgess return to Swansea an even bigger asset to the side.
