Keanu Kole Baccus (born 7 June 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL League One club Mansfield Town. Born in South Africa, he is an international with the Australia national team, where he made his full international debut in September 2022.
 Baccus playing for Western Sydney Wanderers U21 in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Keanu Kole Baccus[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 June 1998[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Durban, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Mansfield Town | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Parklea SFC | |||
| Fairfield Hotspurs | |||
| Blacktown Spartans | |||
| Blacktown City | |||
| 2014–2016 | Western Sydney Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Western Sydney Wanderers NPL | 32 | (3) |
| 2016–2022 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 106 | (6) |
| 2022–2024 | St Mirren | 64 | (3) |
| 2024– | Mansfield Town | 12 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Australia U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 2017–2021 | Australia U23 | 14 | (0) |
| 2022– | Australia | 21 | (1) |
Medal record | |||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:48, 19 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024 | |||
Early life
editBaccus was born in Durban, South Africa but moved to Australia before his first birthday where his family settled in western Sydney.[2] Baccus attended Kings Langley Public School where he was inspired by Socceroo Mark Schwarzer to participate in the sport.[3][4] He is the younger brother of Macarthur FC player Kearyn Baccus.[5]
Club career
editWestern Sydney Wanderers
editAfter rising from the Wanderers Academy to serve as co-captain of the youth team, Baccus signed a two-year senior contract in May 2017.[6]
St Mirren
editIn April 2022, St. Mirren boss Stephen Robinson announced that Baccus was joining the Scottish Premiership club following the conclusion of the 2022 A League campaign.[7] A few months later, the signing was confirmed by the club as a two-year deal.[8] At the end of his contract, after 64 games and 3 goals for St. Mirren, Keanu decided his future lay elsewhere and decided not to sign a new contract.
Mansfield Town
editOn May 22, 2024, it was announced that he had joined Mansfield Town on a free transfer.[9] The Stags had just been promoted from EFL League Two into EFL League One by finishing in an automatic promotion position in the 2023–24 season.
International career
editBaccus qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of the Australia under-23 team. The team beat Argentina in their first group match but were unable to win another match. They were therefore not in medal contention.[10]
In September 2022, Baccus debuted for the senior national team as a second-half substitute in a friendly against New Zealand.[11] On 8 November 2022, he was named in Australia's World Cup squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[12] Baccus was used as a substitute in Australia's first three games in the tournament, before making his first senior international start in Australia's loss in the round of sixteen to Argentina.[13]
International goals
edit| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 2024 | Western Sydney Stadium, Parramatta, Australia |  Lebanon |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
editAustralia U20
References
edit- ^ a b c "Squad list - Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ ""It's Keanu, not Keano!" — why St Mirren's new general is putting his foot down". thetimes.co.uk. 9 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Home - Crestwood High School". kingslangl-p.schools.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Mark Schwarzer Profile, News & Stats | Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ Staff reporter. "Durban-born Keanu Baccus joins St. Mirren". Kickoff. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ "Keanu Baccus earns first team contract". Western Sydney Wanderers. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ Burns, Scott (25 April 2022). "Western Sydney Wanderers star Keanu Baccus agrees St Mirren pre contract". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Keanu Baccus agrees two-year deal". St Mirren. 27 June 2022. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Australia's Baccus joins Mansfield from St Mirren". BBC. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "New Zealand vs Australia, International Friendlies, Round 1, 25th Sep 2022". Socceroos. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ "Socceroos Squad Announced for FIFA 2022 World Cup". 8 November 2022. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ James, Euan (7 December 2022). "'Dream come true': Baccus over the moon after Socceroos starting debut". Socceroos. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Young Socceroos win AFF U19 title". Goal.com. 25 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
External links
edit- Keanu Baccus at Soccerway
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