Training is in the evenings so Goodwin and his fiancé Katelyn, a nurse, spend their days exploring the scenic coastal spots’ cafes and restaurants of Jeddah. 

His fiancé, however, wears the traditional Muslim wear for women, an abaya, when she’s in public.

And with the new tourist visa, some family members have been able to visit the pair. 

“In general, it’s not that much different from what we’d do in Australia. We often go for a walk along the water," Goodwin says of life outside training. 

They arrived back in Australia after six weeks of lockdown in Jeddah. 

The couple subsequently spent two weeks in quarantine in a small Melbourne hotel with just two 15 minute walks outside per day. 

Goodwin and his partner then returned home to Adelaide where they are currently in day five of self-isolation. 

It’s been tough but with living in Saudi without their family and friends, it’s made the couple even stronger. 

“It’s been a little draining,” added the Socceroo, capped five times. 

"But we got through a lot of Netflix and got on each other’s nerves sometimes!” 

Meantime, he’s on a training program set by Socceroos head of S&C, Andrew Clark. 

Goodwin is due back in Saudi in August with the league set for a one-month pre-season before finishing off the competition (they’ve played 22 rounds) from September.

Leaving his home state SA, working part-time at a Melbourne KFC while launching his NPL career with Oakleigh under current J-League assistant coach with Japanese champions Yokohama, Arthur Papas, Goodwin’s career has been about staying focussed. 

A prime example is in recent months when Goodwin missed an open goal for his club. 

It garnered wide coverage (“My dad told me it made news in Adelaide” he notes). A week later, Goodwin smashed a brace. 

The winger didn’t make the cut for Adelaide United’s youth team for two years in a row. And was cut from the SA state team earlier as a junior. 

“The setbacks test your mental capacity,” he says. 

“But it also shows how driven you are, they challenge who you are as you ask yourself, ‘is this what you really want?’”

He adds: “Footballers are human, we make mistakes,” stressing that his much-publicized tap-in miss should’ve been put away.

However, he provided an assist in the same game. “Most strikers around the world, the top players, they’ve all missed easy shots. 

“That’s how it is with social media and media in general. Funnily though, when I scored the two goals a week later, there wasn’t a peep.

"But it’s how you respond that matters."