{"id":684373,"date":"2026-05-21T03:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/684373\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T03:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:37:14","slug":"socceroos-world-cup-squad-every-australian-player-named-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/684373\/","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos World Cup squad: Every Australian player named so far"},"content":{"rendered":"

The largest Socceroos contingent to ever prepare for a World Cup is making for exciting news despatches from the United States each time players are added \u2013 but what to make of the contingent that has arrived in Sarasota so far? <\/p>\n

For a country that has often been one of the last to qualify, this long preparation \u2013 the Socceroos are the first to have started training in the States \u2013 is an unknown luxury. <\/p>\n

It started with a batch of very fringe A-League options and a smattering of European-based players getting the chance to stay \u2018in season\u2019 and give themselves any chance of selection, while also providing critical continuity for veterans Harry Souttar and Mathew Leckie.<\/p>\n

From that group, Hayden Matthews has unfortunately already withdrawn due to injury. <\/p>\n

Then, things got interesting. <\/p>\n

It seems in-form A-League sensation Marcus Younis has missed out, despite being a revelation in 2026 for Melbourne City. Tony Popovic pointed out before he left that while we have a bit of a bias to what we see in front of our eyes in an Australian timezone, he is watching stars stating their case all across the globe. Instead, Queens Park Rangers\u2019 Daniel Bennie and Wigan Athletic\u2019s Raphael Borges Rodrigues have been summoned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The recent call ups read like a veritable who\u2019s who of Football360\u2019s Aussies Abroad tracker<\/a> \u2013 these youngsters, 20 and 22 respectively, have been doing good things in the English Football Leagues.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo: Football Australia<\/p>\n

But at this point, uncapped, and so close to a World Cup, are they genuinely a chance of breaking into Popovic\u2019s squad? Are there really that many places up for grabs at this point? Popovic himself said anyone involved in this part of the program is someone who he thinks can step into the side during a World Cup. While some nations have already zoned in and picked a 26, Popovic is either keeping these players on their toes or genuinely still tossing up a couple of borderline options.<\/p>\n

The call-ups so far hint at a couple of things.<\/p>\n

One, there is no clear deputy to Jacob Italiano at right wingback, hence why Borges Rodrigues, who is on loan from Championship winners Coventry, has been called in. He was been used in that role in League One and provides an attacking option as well. If Frank Karacic or Kai Trewin don\u2019t get a call-up in the final batch of selections, Borges Rodriguez could be half a shot.<\/p>\n

\"\"Socceroos coach Tony Popovic keeps a watchful eye over proceedings at training in Florida. Photo: Football Australia.<\/p>\n

Dylan Leonard, Gianni Stensness<\/a> and Leckie\u2019s selections hint that through the spine of the side, Popovic is either assessing a couple of utilities, or has concerns about the depth. They all have such different profiles; what can\u2019t be doubted is their club exploits, at very different stages of their careers, warrant consideration. The concern is they\u2019re all so new to this regime so close to a World Cup.<\/p>\n

In the same breath, Cammy Devlin gets another look-in and a chance to state his case within a national team camp, given he could hardly have done much more through his club form, but Max Balard\u2019s omission is another that has caught the eye. <\/p>\n

The other thing that is clear is that there is an opportunity for someone to step up to be Mohamed Toure\u2019s deputy, or Plan B, as well as to play that role alongside him up front \u2013 one that might have, in another universe, gone to Adrian Segecic. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Bennie comes in, as does Martin Boyle, Nishan Velupillay and of course, Nestory Irankunda. We know the Watford winger will play \u2013 but is he best served starting or on the bench? Either way, Australia needs a game-changing plan B.<\/p>\n

Up front, there are a range of profiles with Ante Suto the latest to join what was otherwise a long list of A-League veterans. Interestingly, Zac Sapsford\u2019s run with Dundee United was not enough to see him considered amongst those options. <\/p>\n

Who else is missing? The highest profile is probably Riley McGree, who along with Sammy Silvera, has a Championship Play-Off Final to contest against Hull as a result of the extraordinary spy-gate drama that saw Southampton expelled. <\/a><\/p>\n

Others still vying for their clubs include skipper Mat Ryan at Levante, Colorado Rapids defender Lucas Herrington, Parma central defender Alessandro Circati and promotion pushing Awer Mabil in Spain. The A-League Grand Final contingent are also still playing. Paul Okon-Engstler looks set for inclusion but will Harrison Devenish-Meares\u2019 form for Sydney FC be enough to force his way into reckoning into the top three keepers, not just as a train on? <\/p>\n

There is likely to be another bunch added to training next week before things get whittled down ahead of the clash with Mexico in Los Angeles, on the eve of the squad needing to be submitted to FIFA. <\/p>\n

\"\"(L-R) Mat Leckie, Mitch Duke, Ajdrin Hrustic and Aziz Behich. Photo: Football Australia.<\/p>\n

Socceroos World Cup training squad<\/p>\n

Last updated on May 21. We will continue to update this page as more players are added.<\/p>\n

Goalkeepers: Patrick Beach, Joe Gauci, Paul Izzo<\/p>\n

Defenders: Aziz Behich, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Jacob Italiano, Dylan Leonard, Harry Souttar, Gianni Stensness<\/p>\n

Midfielders: Anthony Caceres, Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Mathew Leckie, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O\u2019Neill, Alex Robertson<\/p>\n

Forwards: Daniel Bennie, Brandon Borrello, Martin Boyle, Nick D\u2019Agostino, Mitch Duke, Nestory Irankunda, Ante Suto, Mohamed Toure, Nishan Velupillay<\/p>\n

Coach: Tony Popovic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The largest Socceroos contingent to ever prepare for a World Cup is making for exciting news despatches from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85,6248,329920],"class_list":["post-684373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-tony-popovic","tag-world-cup-squads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684373","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=684373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}