7. JOHN IREDALE

It’s early days yet so don’t get too excited, but Iredale has broken his duck at Eredivisie level and has a few tongues wagging around the Socceroos set-up.

Now that Australia's desperate striking requirements are well-established, Iredale's a 19-year-old who bagged 10 goals in 13 appearances for an Eredivisie youth team last season.

Yep, he broke his foot earlier this year and was out until May. But for the sake of our collective sanity, let’s look past the Socceroos curse and focus on the future, just like Iredale is.

“(My coach) has me in his plans,” he recently told The World Game. “Basically it’s keep working hard and be ready. It’s definitely good to know he’s thinking of how to use me this season.

"It helps me to be able to play, not worrying about whether he’s thinking of going to use me.”