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Socceroos defender Bailey Wright says the disappointment of missing out on Australia's 2018 World Cup squad forced him to become a better player.
Socceroos defender Bailey Wright admits missing out on Australia's 2018 World Cup squad hurt deeply and adversely affected his career.
A member of Ange Postecoglou's squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Wright was overlooked by Bert van Marwijk four years later despite having started both legs of the play-off against Honduras where Australia secured their ticket to Russia.
Having been a regular for the Socceroos before that disappointment, Wright's return to the national team for last week's friendly win over Jordan was the 29-year-old's first appearance for Australia in over two years.
To celebrate his return Wright scored a first-half equaliser from a Craig Goodwin free-kick and goes into a must-win World Cup play-off against the United Arab Emirates in Doha on the back of a promotion to the English Championship with Sunderland.
"I'm not going to lie it hurt me when I missed out on 2018 going to Russia, but if anything it just sort of emphasised that whenever you get that shirt, it's not guaranteed to be yours next time," Wright told AAP.
"You can't get complacent, can't get comfortable.
If anything it's probably motivated me and spurred me on once I recovered from the setback, that affected me quite a bit.
"These things in your career, it's what makes you an experienced player, what makes you stronger, better as a person, better leader and I'd say I'm probably better off for experiencing it."
Full of confidence and belief after Sunderland's League One play-off final win over Wycombe last month, Wright says he'll draw on that experience as Australia try to secure a spot in this year's World Cup.
A win over the UAE would set-up a clash with Peru a week later, with the victor in that match qualifying for this year's finals in Qatar.
"If there's anything I've learned from my last three months with Sunderland, there's finding a way to win in different ways," he said.
"You can come across different opposition, you can face different challenges, teams can surprise you and do something unexpected.
"You've got to find a way to win and that's as a group of players.
"Coming into camp you've got a lot of boys coming off the back of success and good seasons and strong seasons and there's a real togetherness to be ready to get the job done."
