Socceroos midfield Ajdin Hrustic’s first World Cup was shackled by an injury-interrupted lead in, but as his second approaches, he is welcoming the role of experienced veteran to the squad’s younger cohort.

The 29-year-old was one of Australia’s best players throughout their 2022 qualifying campaign, but an ankle injury suffered on the eve of the last World Cup severely nullified his influence.

He saw the field for just over an hour’s worth of action across three separate group games and was not the creative force he had been for the Socceroos previously — which makes his selection for the 2026 matter even more.

“The World Cup doesn’t come around every day, so you’ve got to get ready for this one because it’s four years until you get the next one. The question is, will you be at the next one?” he told reporters in Oakland.

“That (last World Cup) definitely opened my eyes quite a lot. I’m really happy to be here. I’ve taken every training session as my last one.

“You’ve got to get everything out of yourself day by day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a gym session, pitch session, or recovery session, you’ve got to enjoy that moment, because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.

“It was tough, but I don’t want to look back to what happened in 2022 because a lot has happened in that year, and I’ve come out strong, stronger than ever.

“There was stuff off the pitch. It’s part of life, and it’s part of football, it’s how you bounce back and how you’re going to perform now.”

Hrustic won a Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt under departing Crystal Palace coach Oli Glasner, had two stints in Italy with Hellas Verona and Salernitana, before impressing in a difficult campaign for Heracles Almelo in the Netherlands this season.

For a man who has seen a lot, he is happy to pass down some wisdom to the young brigade of Socceroos, with 17 players making their World Cup debuts in North America.

“You see the young boys coming through, just like I was once, and I enjoy it. I like having words with them, with most of the boys,” Hrustic said.

“I remember my first game, I had Mile (Jedinak) and Tim Cahill, and so I remember how it was. You learn how to respect the country, the players, the senior players, what they’ve done for their country, for their clubs, and you see it coming across now, for the younger boys.

“You get a lot of respect, and they ask you questions, they come and ask for little tips.”

One young gun Hrustic rates highly is Paul Okon-Engstler, the son of Socceroos great and current assistant coach Paul Snr.

The Sydney FC midfielder admitted it was a bit surreal to have his father in camp to celebrate the news of his selection

“He’s just another coach on the staff, and he obviously congratulated me, told me he was proud of me,” Okon-Engstler said.

Okon-Engstler has already had a taste of a World Cup-like atmosphere, having come off the bench in Australia’s 1-0 loss to Mexico last week.

“It was a surreal experience, playing in front of 80,000 people, and playing at such a historic place like the Rose Bowl, where a World Cup final was hosted,” he said.

“Starting on the bench, I did feel the atmosphere, but as soon as you come on onto the field, you’re just so concentrated on the game, and you’re numb to that outside noise. I didn’t really feel the away crowd once, once I started playing.”