CHERRIES goalkeeper Jordan Holmes is preparing to take one of the biggest decisions of his fledging career as he bids to boost his prospects of gate-crashing the World Cup.

The 20-year-old Australian, a member of Carl Fletcher under-21s at Vitality Stadium, acknowledges a place in the Socceroos squad for Russia 2018 could be just a pipe dream.

But adopting part of Cherries’ club motto “anything is possible”, the ambitious young stopper wants to be in position to accept a shock call up should the opportunity present itself.

Holmes knows he needs to be playing regularly to stand any chance, with his best option likely to be a loan move to a league club when the transfer window opens.

However, having been selected by Australia for the Under-23 Asian Cup, Holmes’s involvement in the tournament would see him spend most of January in China.

Holmes followed the action intently seven days ago as Mile Jedinak’s hat-trick against Honduras booked the Socceroos a place at a fourth successive World Cup finals.

“It is a bit far-fetched but anything is possible,” said Holmes, who travelled solo halfway around the world as a 16-year-old to pursue a career in the game.

“You never know. If there were a few injuries and I was playing well and regularly, there could be an outside chance.

“It is a big dream but you just have to hope you get everything in place to make yourself available for selection.

“Being selected in the under-23s is quite big for me as I am only 20. I could put myself in a position to go to the Olympics with that squad as well.

“January could be a big month for me.

“The Asian Cup takes place for most of the month and, with regular football in mind, I also might need to try to sort out a loan.

“It would be tough to get a loan if I might be away for 25 days. Being in China for the whole tournament, I don’t think they would let me fly back and forth.

“It is a big decision. Do I go with the loan or do I go with the national team? We will see what happens.”

Holmes, who has fellow Aussies Adam Federici and Brad Smith as team-mates at Cherries, is also out of contract at the end of this season, another factor to consider.

A regular for Cherries in the Central League, the Sydneysider had brief loan spells at Eastbourne Borough and Weymouth having been rewarded with his first pro contract when he was just 12 months into a two-year scholarship.

Brighton’s Maty Ryan is Australia’s first-choice stopper, while Federici, who is currently sidelined by injury, Levante’s Mitch Langerak and Danny Vukovic, who plies his trade with Genk in Belgium, are some of the country’s other leading goalkeepers.

Holmes added: “It was a nervous one throughout qualifying but, when we got the draw in Honduras, I knew we could bring it home and we did that very nicely.

“Going to the World Cup is only going to benefit Australian football. There are a lot of kids playing and they want to see the country doing well.

“I think a few of the big boys in the tournament are not going to think too highly of us so, hopefully, we can go on the big stage and surprise a few.”