DANIEL Capmbell had a magnificent tournament representing Australia at the 2022 International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football ( IFCPF) World Cup in Spain which concluded last week.

The teenage hotshot from Coffs Harbour hit many milestones during the World Cup, including a hat-trick against Canada and scoring the winning goal against Germany; but captaining his country was the icing on the cake.

Ranked number ten in the world, Daniel was hoping the team would crack into the top ten but were dealt a tough draw alongside heavyweights Iran and USA; ranked fourth and sixth in the world.

Daniel shared the amazing experience with the News Of The Area.

“The whole experience of the 2022 IFCPF World Cup in Spain was amazing although we didn’t get the results we wanted,” he said.

“I felt that all the lads played good football and we were a bit unlucky with some of the results we got.

“Our first group game was against a world class Iran side that ultimately finished second in the tournament.

“I felt like in this game we kept up with the Iranians but just a couple of lapses of concentration which led to them scoring and with us losing 2-0.

“Our second game against the USA was a game that we reckoned we would get a result over them.

“We started the game very strongly, going up 1-0 pretty early, but unfortunately it was similar to the last game with just a few errors and we lost the game 5-1.”

Daniel was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) in his early childhood but managed to compensate for it by adapting his running style and running on his tiptoes so he could play football with his friends.

When not on international duty, Daniel plays in the elite regional competition, the Coastal Premier League, and to the untrained eye, makes any disability look unnoticeable.

However, when he plays on a level playing field, Daniel is world class, which he demonstrated by scoring a hat-trick against Canada.

“Our next game against Canada was a playoff game, so the winners played for ninth and tenth and the losers played for eleventh and twelfth.

“We felt confident going into this game with all the boys having high spirits.

“We started the game well with us having lots of opportunities but just not able to finish them, then in the 23rd minute I scored a long shot from halfway which put us 1-0 up going into half time.”

It was during the match against Canada that Daniel’s performances on the pitch were rewarded with the captain’s armband.

“In the second half our captain Benjamin Roche got subbed off and I was fortunate enough to get the honour to be captain for the rest of the game and wear the captain’s armband.

“This was my first time being captain for my country and it was such an honour and an amazing experience.

“The second half was very physical, end to end stuff with both teams playing great football, then in the 46th minute I scored my second goal with a long shot that curled into the top corner putting us up 2-0 ahead with about fifteen minutes left in the match.

“With five minutes to go, Canada scored two quick goals which sent us to extra time.

“Canada scored with ten minutes to go in the second half of extra time, then in the added time of extra time we won a penalty and I was told to take it with basically the last kick of the game.

“I stepped up and slotted the penalty away and it was 3-3 and the game went to a penalty shoot-out.

“Ultimately it ended 4-3 on penalties with me scoring my penalty in the shootout but it wasn’t enough as we lost to Canada.

“All the boys were gutted with the result but we were still playing great football but were just unlucky.”

The Pararoos’ next match was against the football powerhouse of Germany where Daniel scored the winning goal.

“We had one more game against Germany for the eleventh and twelfth playoff game.

“We started the game a bit slow but we started getting into it half way through the first half.

“Then at the start of the second half we went down 1-0 and I got subbed on shortly after that and ended up scoring the winner against Germany in the 53rd minute to beat Germany 2-1.”

The Pararoos finished the tournament in eleventh position and were buoyant about their style of play.

“We didn’t get our single digit ranking that we were aiming for but all the lads should be very happy with our performances because we played good football throughout the whole tournament and the future is looking very bright for the Pararoos in the coming years,” said Daniel.

Daniel will now swap the green and gold national jersey for his club colours of orange and black on Saturday as he represents the Coffs Coast Tigers in the men’s CPL.

By David WIGLEY