![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20140318000911890059_10434.jpg\")
Former Melbourne Victory captain Adrian Leijer defending during the AFC Champion League group match between Melbourne Victory and Japan\u2019s Yokohama F Marinos in 2014. Photo: Joe Castro\/AAP.<\/p>\nFORMER\u00a0 Socceroos Adrian Leijer and Josip Skoko spend most of their time developing the next generation of local football talent, but this month their attention will be fixed on the game\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
The Geelong soccer identities believe Australia can emerge from the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with both backing Tony Popovic\u2019s Socceroos side to upset more fancied opponents.<\/p>\n
Leijer, who directs Coerver Coaching Geelong\u2019s programs across the region and works with hundreds of young players each year, said excitement was building among local families ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo wear the green and gold is something else, no matter what level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always remember leading into the tournament you\u2019re nervous but it\u2019s a really proud moment. You just hope that once you get there, you can have some good results and a good experience. Fingers crossed for this group that they can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having represented Australia at under-17 and under-20 level before reaching the Olympic Games, Leijer knows what it takes to perform on the international stage and believes this Socceroos squad is capable of surprising a few opponents.<\/p>\n
The speed and creativity of Watford forward Nestory Irankunda could prove a major asset, while captain Jackson Irvine is expected to provide leadership and stability through midfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to be tested and it\u2019s going to be a tough tournament,\u201d Leijer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeams will take points off each other, but if we can snag one win, and get a result in another game it should be enough to get us through. Tony Popovic is quite a defensive minded coach, so they won\u2019t have a lot of the ball, but they will be very fit and have a crack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skoko, who earned 51 caps for Australia and now serves as director of football at the North Geelong Warriors, said representing the Socceroos remained the pinnacle of his career.<\/p>\n
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Former Melbourne Victory captain Adrian Leijer defending during the AFC Champion League group match between Melbourne Victory and Japan\u2019s Yokohama F Marinos in 2014. Photo: Joe Castro\/AAP.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing thing to stand up there and reflect on your past in becoming a Socceroo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes you proud for yourself, your family, your fans and everyone who has helped you along the way. The national anthem was always that moment of significance and importance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skoko believes reaching the knockout rounds is a realistic expectation for Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be dissatisfied if they don\u2019t make it through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got three games and they need to get at least one win and a draw.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that who knows how far they can go and who they can surprise as an underdog.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leijer said excitement was building among local soccer families as the tournament approached.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe time zone for us is outstanding, games between 5am and 2pm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully our local families and children support the Socceroos and they have a good run at it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORMER\u00a0 Socceroos Adrian Leijer and Josip Skoko spend most of their time developing the next generation of local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":734557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-734556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734556","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=734556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/734556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/734557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=734556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=734556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=734556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}