- Central Coast star is the shortest football in any code
- Conquered the A-League this season
- Rewarded with a dream Socceroos call-up
Big things can come in small packages, as diminutive Australian midfielder Josh Nisbet proved after receiving his first Socceroos call-up from coach Graham Arnold.
At just 160cm (just under 6ft) tall, Nisbet is by far the shortest footballer in Australia, regardless of code.
Now, after a childhood spent being tortured by other children who called him midget and midget, Nisbet has defied everyone who said he was too small to make it.
The electric Central Coast Mariners star has been named in the Socceroos squad for the next 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 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
The uncapped Nisbet was considered an unfortunate omission from the original 25-man squad announced by Socceroos coach Graham Arnold on Thursday.
But after topping the A-League table with seven assists and scoring in back-to-back league games this month with goals against Newcastle Jets and Macarthur, his form has been too much for national coach Graham Arnold to ignore.
“The kid did a great job.” Arnold said about Nisbet.
Australia host Lebanon at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on Thursday evening before the teams meet again in Canberra on Tuesday evening.
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold likes what he has seen from Nisbet, despite his size
Nisbet will move to Melbourne City next season, the side he helped dismantle in the A-League grand final last season.
Out of contract at the end of this season, Nisbet was questioned for his diminutive stature but has proven his opponents wrong twice in a row with the PFA Player of the Month award and now his call-up to Arnold’s Socceroos selection.
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 qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup with six points from two matches.
Lebanon is in second place, four points behind the Australians in a group that also includes Palestine and Bangladesh, who each have one point.
The top two countries from each of the nine groups will advance to the third qualifying round. where the 18 teams are split 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.