Mandurah soccer prodigy to represent Australia at world championships

The 18-year-old striker will don the green and gold against some of the top soccer nations in the world, starting with a group stage where Australia will take on the USA, Northern Ireland and Ukraine, who is ranked number one.

Ellery, who made the side on the back of a blistering performance for WA at a national tournament in Sydney, expects his Pararoos side to be competitive at the games.

“I think we’ve got a pretty strong squad,” he said.

“There are some new players in there and some younger players this time around, so I think we should go fairly well.”

Ellery’s path to representing Australia started at his local club, the Southern Sharks.

After being a standout with the Sharks he was given the opportunity to play in a WA uniform, taking to the field for national tournaments and even playing overseas in places like Singapore.

Now, the soccer prodigy is Argentina-bound to help Australia take on the world, a feat that has driven him for years.

“I’ve always wanted to represent Australia and play for my country so it’s really special for me,” he said.

“Hopefully we can play well and get a few wins.”

Ellery has been travelling interstate for training camps with the team every month since he was named to the squad.

Canning MP Andrew Hastie has supported him on his journey, and said he was one of the finest athletes the Peel region had produced.

“For Raymond to be playing on a national level certainly puts him up there,” he said.

“We’ve been able to support him along the way and it’s clear he has a lot of talent.”

Ellery will fly to Sydney for a four-day pre-tournament camp on Saturday, before spending the following three weeks in Argentina.