It’s fair to say Harry Souttar’s journey to the 2022 World Cup was more emotional than most. The towering defender – at 1.98cm he is the second-tallest Socceroo in history – was not only battling a serious injury, but three months before the tournament began, his eldest brother Aaron died from motor neurone disease.

“Obviously going into the World Cup, that was massively on my mind – doing it for him,” he says. “The boss said ... when you go out there, think of that one person you’re doing it for and it was pretty clear.”

But it was uncertain as to whether the Scotland-born Souttar would even make it to that tournament after he injured his ACL the year before. “At the start, I thought, ‘I’ve got ages, I’ll be fine, I’ll play so many games before,’” he says.

He was back on the pitch after about four months – but had to step off again when the half-healed injury began playing up.

Souttar credits Stoke City FC medical boss Nick Meace and Football Australia physio Kurt Lisle with his recovery. “In my mind, I was always, always prepared,” he says.

The injury has also altered Souttar’s attitude towards prehab work. “When you’re a younger player and you see older players do it, and they say, ‘When you get older, you’ll know when you do it,’” he says. “You’re thinking, ‘Oh yeah, whatever mate.’”

That’s all changed now. “Right now, I do it every time before I do a session or a game,” Souttar says. “I’ve always got my exercises that can help me.” He also has a top three list of musts for anybody focussing on their fitness, particularly after an injury. “Number one would be sleep, I didn’t realise how important sleep is for recovery,” he says.

Second on the list is hitting the gym for rehab. “Getting the body moving and light weights and a lot of leg, extra balance exercises. It doesn’t have to be long, just 15–20 minutes,” he says.

“And then [the] third one, I’d probably say recovery ice baths have helped me a lot throughout my rehab stage.”

Gutsy midfielder Keanu Baccus debuted for the Socceroos just two years ago, but he already has a swag of memories to look back on. “Winning games in the World Cup was surreal,” he says. “Playing the likes of Argentina, you know, with [Lionel] Messi – marking him was a dream come true.”

The 25-year-old broke onto the professional scene in the A-League with the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2016 and represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics before getting his start with the Socceroos. He signed with Scottish club St Mirren in 2022.

His success has come with fierce attention to his health and fitness. “I pride myself on doing all the right things required for football,” he says. “As well as my dream and my passion, it’s also my job, so I respect it highly.”

Food in particular is “very important”. “I try to keep a clean diet and a little protein, carbs when needed as well, and also obviously stay hydrated,” he says.

It hasn’t always been the case, he admits. “I have a little brother and I always tell him to try to get a little bit of a head start with [playing football] because I didn’t when I was at his age – he’s about 15 now,” Baccus says. “I had a lot of fun with my friends, which was fine. A lot of fun football-wise, but then a lot of fun eating-wise as well. And I feel like it did set me back a little bit.”

Fast food and chocolate were among the things Baccus found he had to cut back on to achieve his potential and he passes that advice on. “It’s a bit of a weakness at times, but you’ve just got to pick and choose the right times to do it,” he says. “You’ve got to remember your goals at the end of the day, and consider if something is going to help or set you back.”

Baccus is highly fitness-focussed as well. “The first few years of my professional career, I used to think the game and then recovery was the biggest thing,” he says. “And it is massive of course but, to recover, you’ve also got to do other things actively. You can start off small if it’s body weight and really build a good foundation for yourself.”

Mitchell Duke’s journey to Socceroos veteran started early. Born in Sydney’s south-west as one of nine kids. He says his dad “saw something” in him early on and acted accordingly.

“He’d wake me up before school to make sure I was doing, like, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups a day, before he would leave for work,” he says. “I look back at it now and I really thank him because I feel like he’s really given me a good core bit of strength.”

It also instilled in Duke, a forward who debuted for the Socceroos 11 years ago in 2013, a routine he believes is important for anybody who wants to improve their health and fitness. “I think it’s just knowing who you are as a player, what your strengths are, how to keep your body in good condition,” he says. “You figure out what’s good, what food’s good for your body.”

He tailors his diet to his training and match schedule. “It’s a healthy routine, obviously, what you put into your body. You can eat pastas, fish, rice, certain proteins. As for me, a night before a game, for instance, I’ll eat a nice pasta.”

Sleep, too, is vital, he says, and he aims for seven to eight hours a night.

It’s a routine that’s kept him among football’s elite for over a decade, starting with his debut for the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners in 2010, through to 31 appearances for the Socceroos and four for the Australian Olympic football team.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Duke scored the Socceroos’ only goal in a 1–0 win over Tunisia, bagging the Aussies their first World Cup victory since 2010. “There’s only a very small group of players that have been able to score at the World Cup for Australia, and it feels pretty special to be part of that group,” Duke says, nominating it as the proudest moment of his long career.

Duke has played in Japan for several years, most recently signing with J2 League club Machida Zelvia. But now, his focus is on the AFC Asian Cup 2024, where the Socceroos will return to Qatar determined to make their mark. “The team that we’ve got and the players that we have, we can definitely get the job done and go all the way and win it when you look ahead.”