Max Middleby on his 'surprise' call-up for Australia under-18 squad

The Valentine 17-year-old, who is the son of former Socceroo Robbie Middleby, was named on Monday in an Australian under-18 men's squad bound for a four nations tournament in Portugal in June.

The selection came as a shock to the rising talent, who now plays for the Central Coast Mariners Academy in NPL NSW, but wasn't surprising for Valentine Phoenix coach Adam Hughes.

Middleby played all of his junior football for Phoenix and was given his first taste of senior football as a 15-year-old by Hughes.

He played the 2021 season in NPL Northern NSW before being picked up by the Mariners Academy.

"He was the youngest kid in Australia at the time with the most match minutes for any NPL in Australia," Hughes told the Newcastle Herald.

"He came to my attention and his performance merited him being given an opportunity at a young age, and I think it goes to show what sort of a success it can be if someone at such a young age can be involved in a senior environment."

Middleby, who is now based at Chittaway Bay on the Central Coast, gained plenty from the experience.

"I'm very grateful for Hughesy pushing me up at such a young age," Middleby said.

"It was really important for me at that age to play first grade.

"I was still developing and young, and playing against the older guys was hard but it benefitted me heaps."

At the end of last year, Middleby made the decision to relocate to the Central Coast to give football his full focus.

It has paid dividends.

The defensive midfielder has been impressive in the step up from NPL NSW reserve grade to first grade this season but admitted being blindsided by his first national call-up.

"For the past couple of weeks there was a monitoring system going on and they were looking at a couple of players," Middleby told the Herald when back in Newcastle on Thursday.

"But to be honest, I didn't really think that they were looking at me.

"When I got the call on Monday night, it was out of the blue. I was so surprised ... I was just buzzing."

The under-18 squad is considered Australia's next crop of prospective Socceroos and players are set to gain valuable international experience being pitted against teams from England, Portugal and Norway in Lisbon from June 5 to 15.

Middleby's father played at an under-20 World Cup before going on to play five times for the Socceroos.

It is something the teenager hopes to emulate.

"The national team is the pinnacle, so the long-term goal would be to try to keep pushing up and into national teams at each group," he said.

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