Garang Kuol ‘almost missed’ first goal since joining Newcastle United as £15m man grabs assist

It was only Kuol’s fourth cap for Australia as he came off the bench in the closing stages as he beat the offside trap to turn in Aziz Behich’s low cross from close range and secure a 3-1 victory in Parramatta on Friday. Jackson Irvine and Awer Mabil scored either side of Felix Torres’ goal in the first half to make it 2-1 before Kuol’s 84th minute goal.

The 18-year-old also featured for the Socceroos at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before joining Newcastle from Central Coast Mariners in January.

The teenage forward was quickly loaned out to Heart of Midlothian in Scotland to gain first-team experience but has been limited to just one start since joining.

Following his first Australia goal, Kuol said: “Beautiful moment to score a first goal. I think I almost missed it. Happy with the points, the boys fought hard and a win is all we wanted.

“Straight away, the camaraderie, the brotherhood is back, especially after the World Cup. Feels like a second family. Very special place, being with the boys.”

The goal marks Kuol’s first since officially becoming a Newcastle player. And he will be hoping to build on it upon his return to Hearts.

Australia manager Graham Arnold described Kuol’s time in Scotland as a ‘negative experience’ but believes the youngster’s experience away with the national team will come as a welcome boost.

"He’s gone to a league that’s a physical competition, the way Scottish football is played,” Arnold said. “It’s going to be a learning process for the kid as well.

"For Garang, it’s about hanging in there and working hard and having that strong mentality. But this is what a national team camp can do for a young player who is going through a bit of a negative experience at their club - playing for their nation, there’s nothing more proud for him than that.”

Other Newcastle United players on international duty

Along with Kuol, it has been a fairly successful international break so far for Newcastle’s players. While those not on international duty trained in Dubai, Kieran Trippier helped England beat Italy 2-1, Martin Dubravka kept a clean sheet for Slovakia in a 0-0 draw with Luxembourg and Jamal Lewis grabbed an assist as Northern Ireland beat San Marino 2-0 in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Thursday night.

Alexander Isak will be part of the Sweden squad to face Belgium on Friday night while the only blow for a United player so far saw Sven Botman withdraw from the Netherlands squad to face France due to illness. The 23-year-old defender will be hoping to be back fit in time to feature against Gibraltar as he looks to earn his first cap.

Away from the Newcastle first team, Jeff Hendrick – currently on loan at Reading – came off the bench in Republic of Ireland’s 3-2 win over Latvia.

Under-21s midfielder Lewis Miley played the full 90 minutes for England Under-17s in their 3-1 Under-17s European Championship qualifier match against Denmark. Teenage defender Alex Murphy also played the full match as Republic of Ireland Under-19s were beaten 2-1 by their Slovakia counterparts in an Under-19s European Championship qualifier.