Riley McGree has opened up on his experience at the World Cup with Australia following arrival back at Middlesbrough ahead of the Championship’s return.

Australia were eliminated from the competition last weekend following a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the Last 16.

The forward featured in all four of the nation’s games at the international tournament, starting each time.

He contributed one assist as the Socceroos earned passage into the knockout rounds with wins over Denmark and Tunisia.

McGree has claimed that the experience has shown him that he can compete on the biggest stages in football.

He believes that this success with Australia has only made him hungrier to achieve similar success at club level, with his aim being to bring Boro back to the big time in the Premier League.

“I kind of realised I can throw myself around at the highest level and it’s made me a lot hungrier to, not only on a personal level but here at club, to bring us back to where we belong in the big time,” said McGree, via Middlesbrough’s official website.

Boro enjoyed a good run of form under new manager Michael Carrick before the season was put on hold due to the World Cup.

Carrick’s side go into this weekend’s clash with Luton Town having won three of their last four league games.

That has put the side 15th in the table ahead of the visit of the Hatters, with the two teams set to meet on 10 December.

The Verdict

McGree has been an important figure for Boro this season, starting 16 times in the league so far this season.

His three goals make him one of the team’s top scorers so far, and he is one of just three players to have featured in every league game for the team this campaign.

The club will be aiming for an improved second half of the term having struggled in the opening months under Chris Wilder and Leo Percovich.

But the immediate impact of Carrick has been obvious, so there is still plenty of optimism that the club can still compete for promotion in 2023.