BAILEY WRIGHT has achieved one of his major goals for the season after Sunderland won promotion at Wembley – now the centre-half wants to create another reason to celebrate by helping Australia reach the World Cup finals in Qatar.

While most of Wright’s Black Cats team-mates are enjoying a well-earned break, the defender has linked up with the Socceroos squad ahead of their World Cup qualifying play-off campaign.

Australia take on the United Arab Emirates in Qatar on June 8, with the winners then set to face Peru for a place at this winter’s World Cup.

Wright is one of 29 players to have been called up by Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, with his strong performances in the second half of the season with Sunderland having secured him a recall to the international fold.

“Whenever squad selection comes around, you’re always eager to see if you’ve got a call-up, and this time around, I was itching to see if I’d made the squad,” said Wright, who was an ever-present under Alex Neil in the final three months of the season. “You always want to be a part of it. Every time a squad comes around, the feeling and the buzz when you get called up never goes away.

“I’ve obviously been part of camps previously – some from the beginning, some called in as a player on standby to be a back-up when we’ve had a couple of injuries or suspensions. Whatever opportunity you get, it’s always special.

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“For these games coming up, I was itching to be a part of it. I made sure that my club form went well so Arnie (Arnold) would have a bit of a selection headache, and now I’m just looking forward to some massive games.”

Wright made his international debut in 2014, and was part of the Australia side that came through a play-off against Honduras to make the 2018 World Cup finals.

Four years on, and the Socceroos are back in play-off action, with Wright hoping he and his team-mates’ experience of high-pressure qualifying matches will work in their favour as they attempt to secure the two victories they need to make it to this winter’s finals.

“Over the course of your career, you become an experienced player,” said Wright, who has been offered a new deal with Sunderland, with his current contract due to expire next month. “The way you do that is by going through things like qualifying campaigns, things you go through at club football and high-pressure games.

“They’re the sort of things that develop you as a person and as a player, and we certainly have that in this group. We’ve got a group of leaders that all complement each other and lead in their own ways.

“I think that’s important coming into these games because if I look back to the way Mile Jedinak led us through the Honduras game, it was important for a lot of us boys who hadn’t experienced that.

“For these coming games, we have a good group of boys who were a part of that, and have played in many big games. We have players who have played a lot of games for the Socceroos, and that is important with a blend of young and hungry inexperienced players who can learn a lot from them.”

Wright’s play-off success with Sunderland is one of a number of notable achievements celebrated by members of the Australia squad this year. Tom Rogic won the Scottish Premier League title with Celtic, Adjin Hrustic was a Europa League winner with Eintracht Frankfurt and Denis Genreau won the Ligue 2 title in France with Toulouse.

“It’s good to see so many boys in good form, playing in important games and winning trophies,” said Wright, in an interview with the Australian FA. “It’s good to see so many having great seasons and doing well because, when you come into camp, it just sort of raises things to another level because boys are playing at a high standard and there is competition for places.”