Bit of Boro history for Riley McGree...
Named in the Socceroos 26-man squad for the first-ever winter World Cup, Riley McGree joins a long line of prestigious Boro players to have represented their country at the highest level.
The Australian midfielder will jet off to Qatar following the final whistle of this weekend’s fixture against Norwich City with the next set of Championship fixtures not scheduled until Saturday 10 December.
Graham Arnold’s side have been pitted against Tunisia, Denmark and World Cup holders France in Group D and could be a potential quarter-final opponent for England should both sides reach the last eight.
McGree follows in the footsteps of Mark Schwarzer and Mark Viduka, who both featured for the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup, whilst still on the books at Boro.
Viduka was handed the armband by Gus Hiddink for the Germany-based tournament as Australia finished runners-up to Brazil in Group F.
Handed a tricky last-16 tie against eventual winners Italy, Schwarzer was unable to deny Francesco Totti from the spot in the 95th minute.
Also featuring in Germany was Boro’s home-grown talent Stewart Downing.
On the back of an incredible UEFA Cup run, the left-midfielder was drafted into Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England squad, earning three caps for his substitute appearances against Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador.
At the previous World Cup in South Korea, Boro also had three representatives. Joseph-Desire Job featured for Cameroon in their final Group E match, replacing Patrick M’Boma in the 80th minute.
After missing Croatia’s third-place finish due to injury, Alen Boksic started all three matches for the Balkan country, though Zlatko Kranjcar’s men failed to qualify from Group G
While future club captain Gareth Southgate was an unused substitute for England having started in the 2-0 win over Tunisia in the opening match of the 1998 tournament.
Later on in the 1998 World Cup, Southgate and Boro team-mate Paul Merson were both deployed from the bench against Argentina as the Three Lions lost on penalties.
Hamilton Ricard played against England in the group stage, coming on as a second-half substitute in his sole outing at a World Cup finals.
Boro legend Wilf Mannion remains the only Middlesbrough player to have scored for England at a World Cup, bagging the Three Lions’ second against Chile in Group 2 of the 1950 tournament in Brazil.
Alan Peacock also earned a call-up for England during his time at Ayresome Park.
24 goals in 34 games at club level saw him make his Three Lions debut in a 3-1 win over Argentina at the 1962 World Cup. The Boro forward remained in the starting line-up for the deciding group game against Bulgaria, with Walter Winterbottom’s men advancing thanks to a 0-0 draw.
Jim Platt made a solitary appearance for Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup, a 2-2 draw with Austria, while across the border Bernie Slaven made the Republic of Ireland squad in 1990 but didn’t feature.
More recently, Chris Killen started all three group games for New Zealand at the 2010 tournament, the Kiwis elminiated despite going unbeaten with draws against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay.
Albert Adomah appeared for Ghana at the 2014 World Cup, replacing Christian Atsu in a 2-1 defeat to the USA.
Martin Braithwaite made four outings for Denmark at the last World Cup, starting the final group game against France and their quarter-final defeat to Croatia.