'Long guy' Yengi hopes to build on debut Australia goal

Mon, June 8, 2026 at 8:44 AM UTC

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Tete Yengi (left) celebrated with former Dundee United full-back Aziz Behich

Livingston striker Tete Yengi has put scoring on his "dream" debut for World Cup-bound Australia against Switzerland down to being "a long guy".

The 25-year-old had scored only twice in 23 games last season with a Livingston side rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership by the time he joined Machida Zelvia on loan in January.

Since then, he contributed six goals in 22 appearances as his new side finished third in Japan's East Region - and reached the final of the Asian Champions League.

It earned a late, first call-up to Tony Popovic's Socceroos squad along with Sassuolo winger Cristian Volpato and the two new caps were paired with Nestory Irankunda up front in Saturday's 1-1 draw in their final warm-up game before the finals.

"It was a great ball from Cam Burgess and a great run by Connor [Metcalfe]," he said.

"My first thought was get in the box. When he first kicked it, I thought it was a bit far and I thought 'oh, no', but then I'm a long guy, so I extended my leg and I got there thankfully, so I'm very happy.

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"Amazing, you can only dream of moments like this. I'm just grateful for the opportunity. First game, first goal, you can't start any better than that I guess and hopefully I can get more."

Yengi, who joined now relegated Livingston after leaving Ipswich Town in 2024, is hoping to continue the frontline combination when Australia face Turkey, Paraguay and hosts United States in Group D.

"Me and Nestory, we're very good friends, so we want to play on the pitch together and Cristian too, coming in my first time playing with both of them," he said.

"I enjoyed it, though, and the more that I play with all the boys, the better the connection will be, but they're top players for a reason, I am here for a reason, so when we get on the pitch, we have to show why we're here with our nice link-up play and everything.

"I'm looking forward to playing more with them and hopefully we can do something special."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen-born Leicester City centre-half Harry Souttar started against Switzerland, with Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin coming on as a late substitute.

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Source: “AOL Sports”