KUWAIT: Former Australian National Football player, Luke Casserly, spent time at the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) during a visit by the Socceroos team to play a friendly match against Kuwait.

Whilst at ACK, Casserly held a coaching clinic with members of the ACK Football team and spoke about his own experiences as a national player. When asked what was the best match he ever played, Casserly replied "Australia against the Czech Republic around year 2000. They were ranked no. 2 in the world and, also for us; it was the strongest Australian team because we had so many players playing in different countries. So to be involved in a team with the very best players and to play against the number 2 team in the world was my best match."

Casserly was also asked about the experiences of the Australian National team at the World Cup 2018 in Moscow. He replied, "It was an incredible experience. We had many Australian fans at the World Cup so the tournament was fantastic. We felt really disappointed at the end of the tournament because of the manner in which we played; we felt we deserved more than 1 point; however, we came last in the group. We played so well against France who won the tournament and to lose 2 to 1 against them was very tough. It was mixed feelings; it was great to be a part of the event but we were a bit disappointed that we didn't do as well as we were hoping to."

Looking ahead to Doha 2022, Casserly commented that he had been to Doha previously and they have some fantastic facilities. He continued, "I haven't seen everything that has been put in place for the World Cup. The World Cup is in December so I think the temperature is going to be okay. We have played the Asian Cup in Doha in January 2011 and the weather was fine. So, I think it's going to be fine."

Accompanying Casserly on his visit to ACK was the Australian Ambassador to Kuwait, His Excellency Jonathon Gilbert. When asked about his own sporting interests, Ambassador Gilbert mentioned, "I played football as a goal keeper but I also played another Australian game which is Cricket." The ambassador said that he hoped the Australian team would make further visits to Kuwait in the lead up to Doha 2022.