{"id":550034,"date":"2026-03-19T07:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550034\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T07:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:01:08","slug":"socceroos-squad-named-in-final-world-cup-audition-tony-popovic-press-conference-full-list-ante-suto-maiden-call-up-lucas-herrington-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550034\/","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos squad named in final World Cup audition; Tony Popovic press conference, full list, Ante Suto maiden call-up, Lucas Herrington, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Socceroos boss Tony Popovic has made the surprise call to give a maiden national team call-up to Croatian-born Hibernian striker Ante Suto<\/a> for this month\u2019s home friendlies against Cameroon and Curacao.<\/p>\n

Suto and teenager Lucas Herrington are the only two players to have received maiden call-ups to the 26-player squad.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While Deni Juric, who was named in November\u2019s squad but withdraw due to injury, is the only other uncapped player.<\/p>\n

Eighteen-year-old central defender Lucas Herrington caught the attention of Popovic with an impressive start to his MLS career with Colorado Rapids after trading Brisbane for the United States.<\/p>\n

Herrington headed home his first goal for the Rapids in just his second appearance and has played the full 90 minutes in the first four matches to start the season.<\/p>\n

Suto joins club teammate Martin Boyle in the squad as he prepares to present his case for a World Cup berth.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old striker arrived in the Scottish Premiership in the January transfer window from Croatian club Slaven Belupo and he has been on fire for Hibs.<\/p>\n

Suto has scored three goals and provided an assist in six appearances for his new club.<\/p>\n

His blistering start raised the possibility of him using his Australian passport to represent the Socceroos, and it quickly came to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father is from Australia. He was born there and lived there for 20-something years,\u201d Suto told the Edinburgh Evening News last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he came back to Croatia, met my mum and stayed there. He\u2019s from Melbourne. So yeah, Melbourne City, Melbourne Knights and all that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of family also in Australia. My cousins and all that. I\u2019m connected to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe chat almost every day. We have a group on Facebook, on Messenger. We are in touch. We are a big family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018WE WON\u2019T BEG\u2019: Stars who turned back on Socceroos… and brutal whack behind new hardline stance<\/a><\/p>\n

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 4: Ante Suto of Hibernian FC celebrates with his teammates.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Suto\u2019s acquisition comes after the defection of 21-year-old attacking midfielder Adrian Segecic despite being born and raised in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Popovic stressed last week that he \u201cwill not sell the shirt\u201d to players who are uncommitted and in response to that comment, issued a whack at Segecic in Thursday\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say not selling the first, I think, if you\u2019re getting called up for Australia through the junior levels, then you get called up by the Socceroos, shouldn\u2019t that be enough?\u201d Popovic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat your wanted. Should I promise a player at 20 or 21 that he has to play?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got young players in this squad now. Do I promise them that they\u2019re going to play? And if they don\u2019t, I have to fear that he will leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably better for Adrian that he\u2019s gone. I now haven\u2019t restricted him from going where he maybe really wants to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 21, I don\u2019t know, maybe times have changed, and maybe I\u2019m a bit behind times here, but I know when I was 20 or 21, if I got called into the national team and I didn\u2019t play, all I thought about was: \u2018okay, I love that environment. I want to play for Australia. I\u2019ll keep fighting and hope one day I get selected by the coach\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t walk out and say make a phone call and see who else wants me.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s me a bit behind the times?<\/p>\n

COMMERCE CITY, CO – MARCH 7: Colorado Rapids players including Lucas Herrington #22, celebrateSource: AFP<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I mean by not selling the shirt. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve done anything to not indicate to young players that you can play for Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see by this squad. You can see by the last squads that we\u2019ve selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung players have a great opportunity with the Socceroos. That\u2019s clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t know what else I\u2019m supposed to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny player that comes in and says \u2018if I don\u2019t play, I\u2019m out\u2019, should I play that player?<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though maybe at that moment, whether it\u2019s technically, tactically or maybe a player\u2019s ahead physically at that moment, he shouldn\u2019t play because someone\u2019s told me he\u2019ll leave?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I mean by selling the shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popovic\u2019s stance was again made clear when he was asked about Cristian Volpato.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Sydney born and raised winger declined the Socceroos before the last World Cup, but recently met with Popovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo updates. Like I said, we\u2019ve left the door open for him. We haven\u2019t called him to force him to come and play for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we did have a discussion with him because he indicated that he was open to the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we did that well. We did it very professionally, respectfully and we\u2019re not going to be calling him now begging him to play for Australia.
\u201cBut certainly if he indicated that he wants to play, it\u2019s a talented young player that we would love to have here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there are ten players returning to the Socceroos\u2019 squad.<\/p>\n

Experienced defender Aziz Behich is back for the first time since scoring in the World Cup qualifying victory over Japan.<\/p>\n

Tony Popovic at the Socceroos squad announcement.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

Melbourne Victory\u2019s Nishan Velupillay was also recalled, while Awer Mabil has been picked for his first squad since September 2024.<\/p>\n

Feyenoord star Jordy Bos, Parma gun Alessandro Circati along with Ajdin Hrustic, Jacob Italiano, Fran Karacic, Alexander Robertson and Patrick Yazbek have also been recalled.<\/p>\n

2022 World Cup hero and goal scorer Mitchell Duke, meanwhile, was a notable omission.<\/p>\n

But the likes of Jackson Irvine and Harry Souttar are absent as they make their returns from injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are our last matches before our World Cup pre-camp, and we have considered a variety of factors in selecting this squad,\u201d Popovic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many this camp is another opportunity to represent the Socceroos. However, we have also included new faces, as this is our final chance to see players first-hand before our World Cup camp. <\/p>\n

\u201cRepresenting our country is always an honour for both the players and the staff. We want to put on strong performances. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile every game matters, these matches are crucial \u2013 they serve as a farewell to our fans and an opportunity for them to see the team one last time before we head to the United States. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the fantastic support we receive in Australia. Our fans really got behind us during the qualifying campaign, and we look forward to being back on home soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Australia will face Cameroon at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium on Friday 27 March before heading south to take on Curacao at Melbourne\u2019s AAMI Park on Tuesday 31 March. <\/p>\n

The two friendlies serve as the Socceroos\u2019 farewell matches before this year\u2019s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

They also shape as the last opportunity for squad members to push their case forward for selection in the World Cup squad.<\/p>\n

Australia has one more friendly before their tournament opener against a yet to be determined opponent in Vancouver, but that clash with Mexico is scheduled for two weeks before their first group game. <\/p>\n

SOCCEROOS SQUAD<\/p>\n

Patrick Beach (Melbourne City)<\/p>\n

Aziz Behich (Melbourne City)<\/p>\n

Jordy Bos (Feyenoord)<\/p>\n

Martin Boyle (Hibernian)<\/p>\n

Cameron Burgess (Swansea City)<\/p>\n

Alessandro Circati (Parma)<\/p>\n

Milos Degenek (Apoel FC)<\/p>\n

Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata)<\/p>\n

Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids)<\/p>\n

Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles Almemlo)<\/p>\n

Nestory Irankunda (Watford)<\/p>\n

Jacob Italiano (Grazer AK)<\/p>\n

Paul Izzo (Randers FC)<\/p>\n

Deni Juric (Wisla Plock)<\/p>\n

Fran Karacic (NK Osijek)<\/p>\n

Awer Mabil (CD Castellon)<\/p>\n

Connor Metcalfe (St Pauli FC)<\/p>\n

Riley McGree (Middlesborough)<\/p>\n

Aiden O\u2019Neill (New York City)<\/p>\n

Paul Okon-Engstler (Sydney FC)<\/p>\n

Alexander Robertson (Cardiff City)<\/p>\n

Mathew Ryan (Levante UD)<\/p>\n

Ante Suto (Hibernian)<\/p>\n

Kai Trewin (New York City)<\/p>\n

Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory)<\/p>\n

Patrick Yazbek (Nashville SC)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Socceroos boss Tony Popovic has made the surprise call to give a maiden national team call-up to Croatian-born…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[160826,272098,2095,1724,64,63,689,253445,3795,272101,2065,160804,2791,189121,57920,263161,28153,160805,80475,9239,272107,272094,2057,2456,122421,6246,42903,272100,272097,2105,272096,272105,31550,795,253457,941,160809,253467,272102,272095,84337,138604,253458,27013,2184,272103,1025,2041,2067,3583,677,272104,160832,85323,5994,51149,272106,3595,85,154358,161601,272099,81499,57712,6248,11322,20432,3586,2614,3926],"class_list":["post-550034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-albirex-niigata","tag-alexander-robertson","tag-america","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-aziz-behich","tag-british-columbia","tag-callum-landells","tag-canada","tag-cardiff-city-football-club","tag-central-america","tag-city-of-edinburgh","tag-club-teammate","tag-colorado-rapids","tag-croatia","tag-deni-juric","tag-dundee-united-football-club","tag-eastern-asia","tag-edinburgh-evening-news","tag-eighteen-year-old-central-defender","tag-europe","tag-facebook","tag-final-chance","tag-football-news","tag-football-world","tag-friendlies-serve","tag-game-matters","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grazer-ak","tag-home-friendlies","tag-home-soil","tag-inc","tag-jacob-italiano","tag-japan","tag-jason-geria","tag-lucas-herrington","tag-maiden-call-ups","tag-maiden-national-team","tag-martin-boyle","tag-massive-coup","tag-mathew-ryan","tag-melbourne-victory","tag-mexico","tag-national-team-call-up","tag-new-york","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-patrick-beach","tag-patrick-yazbek","tag-paul-izzo","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-premier-league","tag-send-warning","tag-southern-europe","tag-sports","tag-squad-announcement","tag-squad-members","tag-surprise-call","tag-swansea-city-association-football-club","tag-sydney-fc","tag-tony-popovic","tag-tournament-opener","tag-transfer-window","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}