They are brimming with promise, but with faces not wholly familiar. These are your 2026 Socceroos, who will take to the field against Turkey next month with a lineup dominated by those yet to experience a World Cup.
Thee head coach, Tony Popovic, is at least someone well-known to the country’s broader sporting consciousness as a veteran of the 2006 tournament. In a training camp in Florida, he is now finalising the 26-player World Cup squad he will name on 1 June.
Popovic has invited hopefuls who have already finished their league seasons to join him, giving them a chance to find peak fitness for the showpiece event. The coming days – including a friendly against Mexico on 30 May – represent one last shot for many of them to press their claims for selection.
There are now 31 players in camp, with more – like promising defender Lucas Herrington and Middlesbrough’s Riley McGree – still involved in competitive play, but set to join after this weekend.
That dynamic, the massive overhaul of the squad across the past four years and Popovic’s relatively recent arrival, makes speculation about the final squad selection a tantalising prospect.
The locks
Goalkeeper Mathew Ryan is the safest selection of all. The 34-year-old has had a solid season for Levante in La Liga and is one of only two starters from the round of 16 defeat against Argentina in Qatar four years ago to consider themselves likely to be in the XI to face Turkey.
The other is McGree, who has a chance to win promotion to the Premier League with Middlesbrough this weekend in the Championship playoff final.
Since that heartbreaking 2022 defeat against the eventual champions, the Socceroos have undergone a radical transformation. It means World Cup rookies make up the core of the side: left-back Jordy Bos, central defender Alessandro Circati and forwards Mohamed Touré and Nestory Irankunda – even if these electric attacking talents end up being deployed off the bench.
At 30, central defender Cameron Burgess will also be going to his first World Cup, having proven himself as a reliable performer in the Championship for Swansea. He played every minute of all 46 league matches for the Swans.
The likelies
Veterans Jackson Irvine and Harry Souttar have had to overcome injuries this season, and will be included if they can prove their fitness. Irvine’s club-mate at St Pauli, Connor Metcalfe, is also expected to be named, especially given his versatility across midfield. He was a late cull by Graham Arnold in 2022. Aziz Behich, who started against Argentina in 2022, now plays back in the A-League for Melbourne City, but is deeply respected and in line to deputise for Bos at left-back.
Another 2022 hero, Mathew Leckie, has found fitness just at the right time and was singled out for praise by Popovic two weeks ago after his performance in Melbourne City’s elimination final defeat against Auckland. From barely on the bubble of the squad a month ago, the 35-year-old is now a good chance of going to his fourth World Cup as an option to plug in anywhere in the front five.
New York City midfielder Aiden O’Neill – another eyeing his first World Cup – injured his ankle earlier this month. But he has joined the pre-World Cup camp and, if fit, will be named, having become one of Popovic’s go-tos at the base of midfield.
Defenders Kai Trewin and Herrington have proved effective in MLS this season, and are now likely inclusions after strong showings in the Socceroos’ final preparation friendlies in March.
Veteran attacking trio Martin Boyle, Awer Mabil and Ajdin Hrustic appear to have done enough, while midfielder Cammy Devlin has catapulted himself into contention after his fine season for Scottish Premier League runners-up Hearts and given the fitness concerns to other central midfielders.
Austria-based Jacob Italiano has become Popovic’s preferred option at right-back after the injury to Lewis Miller. His solid performances since his Socceroos debut last year include a starring role against Cameroon in March.
The bubble
Another MLS-based midfielder, Patrick Yazbek, sustained what looked like a serious quad injury early in May. From being a likely inclusion in the squad, he is now in a race to prove his fitness. Beneficiaries of his possible absence are Cardiff midfielder Alex Robertson and Sydney FC’s Paul Okon-Engstler.
Kye Rowles, who played every match in Qatar, was a surprise omission from Popovic’s initial squad during the March window. He did, ultimately, receive a call-up, but has fallen down the pecking order in the centre of defence and may now have to rely on his ability to play full-back to earn a place, in a similar outlook to Milos Degenek.
On the right side of defence, there is genuine competition to deputise for Italiano. Fran Karacic and Jason Geria appear to be the leading contenders. It would not be a surprise to see any of the above – or Trewin, who played against Curaçao – starting against Turkey in the important right wing-back role.
Three goalkeepers – Patrick Beach, Joe Gauci and Paul Izzo – will become two as back-ups for Ryan, while winger Nishan Velupillay will hope he has done enough in camp to prove to Popovic he remains the player who was so effective for the Socceroos in 2024 and 2025.
But there is no position of greater selection intrigue than the forward line, where Popovic must choose between recent call-ups Ante Suto and Deni Juric, veteran Mitch Duke, or one of the other A-League players who have spent the past two weeks in training camp. If Touré is deemed better deployed off the bench by Popovic, the Socceroos’ starting spearhead is anyone’s guess.
The long shots
Winger Garang Kuol, who was the source of much excitement among Australian supporters in 2022, has struggled to find his level in Europe. He is now playing regularly for Sparta Prague, but a late call-up three years after his last Socceroos appearance is all but inconceivable.
Already in the training group are emerging players Daniel Bennie from QPR and Raphael Borges Rodrigues who played last season at Wigan. Sammy Silvera, another wide player who has played alongside McGree at Middlesbrough this year, has recently been injured but has not formally been ruled out of the World Cup.
Central defenders Gianni Stensness from Viking in Norway and 19-year-old Dylan Leonard, who played only twice for Schalke in Germany this season due to injury, are also in camp. Then there is the A-League contingent, including forwards Brandon Borrello and Nick D’Agostino, and midfielder Anthony Caceres who will see Popovic’s affection for the domestic-based trio of Behich, Leckie and Velupillay and hope it extends to them.
