Aiden O’Neill is used to doing the dirty work as the proud owner of a cattle farm in the Australian state of New South Wales. The 27-year-old’s hard graft is continuing to reap rich rewards, with the versatile midfielder helping Australia punch their ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
“It’s a bit different. Not many footballers have a farm or an interest in cattle,” the New York City FC star told FIFA. “I bought it about a year and a half ago now. It’s quite a small place in terms of Australian farms, it’s 170 acres. We have a few cattle there and it’s something I really enjoy outside of football.”
The midfielder says it is not coincidental that his love of hard work off the field has transferred to his style of play. “It’s a bit of my personality, I do like that side of football and it’s something that I have in my locker which some players don’t have and something I enjoy doing.”
O’Neill said he used to work on friends’ farms as a child, which grew his passion for the hobby and business interest. “We’ve only just started. We’re up to around 40 calves and we’re expecting another 15 in the next couple of months so it’s building quickly.”
What is also building quickly is Australia’s excitement for the FIFA World Cup™, with the Socceroos drawn in the same group as co-hosts USA, as well as Paraguay plus the winner of UEFA Play-off C, which is one of Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia and Türkiye.
“It’s really exciting and a big reason why I did come to New York as well, with the World Cup coming up,” he said.
Australia will be after a sense of revenge when they take on USA at Seattle Stadium on 19 June, having lost 2-1 to Mauricio Pochettino’s men in an October friendly.
“It’s pretty cool that we’ve got America. We played in a friendly with them and it got a bit heated so we’ll definitely be excited for that match-up. The atmosphere will be intense,” O’Neill said.
“We went out and did what we wanted to do. Once we made a few subs, the game got away from us and they took control. I think it was a really competitive game and they were a bit surprised about our qualities as a national team.”
O’Neill rates New York New Jersey, which will host the World Cup final, as one of the biggest sporting metropolitan areas in the world. “It’s such a vibrant place. When there’s sporting events on, it lights up the city and it’s an amazing place as well.”
On the prospect of Australia playing in their first World Cup final, he added: “In terms of belief, anything is possible in football and all we’ve got to do is approach every game as it comes and do as well as we can.”
Before the global finals arrive, Australia will also feature as part of the FIFA Series™ when they host matches featuring Cameroon, China PR and Curaçao later this month.
