Mizuno honours current Socceroos captain Harry Souttar with a mural in Richmond

On Friday 26 June, Mizuno unveiled a towering mural of current Socceroos captain Harry Souttar in Richmond, hours before a scoreless draw with Paraguay carried Australia into the top 32. The mural, on the wall of Rowena Corner Store, shows the defender fans have come to call the Minister of Defence crouched low and building a brick wall, brick by brick, a nod to the job he does at the heart of the national team's back line.

"Harry is everything Mizuno is built around, a player who leads with substance and has earned every inch of it the hard way," said Rishi Mukhi, Mizuno Oceania Brand Director.

"A great defender is a wall, the last line nothing gets past. Painting Harry building that wall, on a wall, in the middle of Richmond was the most honest way we could think of to celebrate our captain, in the Mizuno boots he leads in."

The work of Melbourne artist Rory Lynch Wells (@lynchmelbourne), the mural shows Souttar from behind, mid-crouch, the captain's armband on his arm and his Mizuno Morelia boots on his feet. At 3.5 metres it gives a quiet Richmond side street a sense of the presence he carries onto the pitch, where his 198 centimetres make him the tallest outfield player ever to wear the green and gold.

The tribute lands at a defining moment for Souttar, recently named the 66th captain of the Socceroos. His return to the side caps one of the more remarkable comebacks in Australian football. A ruptured Achilles tendon sidelined him for more than 15 months between December 2024 and April 2026, ruling him out of 83 games for club and country. He has rebuilt himself the way the mural went up, one piece at a time, and has now captained the side into the knockout stage of its World Cup campaign. Australia next faces Egypt at 4am AEST on Saturday 4 July in Dallas.

On his feet is the Morelia Neo V Beta Japan, the newest colourway in a boot still made in Japan and stitched by hand. The Morelia name dates back to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the city it is named after and the tournament where it first made its mark. Four decades on, that same devotion to craft is laced onto the captain of Australia.

The mural is on public display at Rowena Corner Store in Richmond, a tribute to the captain to come and see as Australia chase a place in the last 16.

DETAILS

• What: Mizuno x Harry Souttar mural
• Where: Rowena Corner Store, 44 Rowena Parade (corner of Alfred Street), Richmond VIC 3121
• Why: Celebrating Socceroos captain Harry Souttar

ENDS

ABOUT MIZUNO

Founded in Osaka in 1906, Mizuno has spent more than a century as one of the world's most respected sporting goods makers, growing from a single shop into a global performance brand across running, golf, football and beyond. Mizuno pairs Japanese engineering and craft, from its signature Wave plate to nitrogen-infused Enerzy cushioning, with a purpose of contributing to society through the advancement of sport. Guided by its Reach Beyond philosophy, it remains a brand for athletes of every level, from first-timers to Olympians.

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