Opportunity knocks as Popovic turns Socceroo sights on World Cup
After World Cup qualification, Tony Popovic has taken the opportunity to give young and inexperienced players a chance in the Socceroos squad for September. Now comes their challenge to take it.
Tony Popovic has thrown sufficient selection curveballs during his time as national team coach that it almost felt out of character for him to do the most obvious thing when naming the Socceroos squad facing New Zealand in the September international window. Yet with World Cup qualification secured, the A-League Men still in its offseason, and several key contributors either injured or just resolving their club situation, that’s what he did: taking the opportunity to pick a young and experimental squad for the Soccer Ashes, giving those on the fringes a chance to press their claim for the World Cup before the coach begins to zero in on his preferred 23. The twist is that there is no twist.
Seven uncapped players featured in the 25-player squad unveiled by the national team boss on Friday morning, as the likes of Max Balard, Noah Botić, Nicolas Milanović, and Adrian Segečić were all presented with an opportunity to realise the excitement surrounding their rise and those such as Anthony Kalik and Tom Glover received a chance to show why they shouldn’t be forgotten in the countdown to 2026. Just ten members of the squad possessing more than ten caps, Nestory Irankunda, Hayden Matthews, Ajdin Hrustić, and Sam Silvera have all returned to the fold (Fran Karačić could also be said to be continuing this comeback journey), and there have been continued national team call-ups in the nascent international careers of Mohamed Touré, Ryan Teague, and Alessandro Circati.
Having just sorted out their club situations, Mat Ryan and Marco Tilio are absent from the squad, as were injured regulars Riley McGree, Nishan Velupillay, Harry Souttar, and Jackson Irvine. Notable in their absence were any players from the Australian top-flight, Popovic making good on his signals that it would be difficult for out-of-season players to make the side by leaving out the likes of Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Kai Trewin, and Anthony Caceres in delivering a first squad devoid of domestic-based players in decades – even at the height of COVID, the A-League Men retained a presence in the Socceroos through Rhyan Grant.
The most notable scratchings not covered by those factors were Jason Geria, who started in the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifying sealing win over Saudi Arabia in June but who would appear to have fallen foul of Popovic wanting to get another look at Matthews following his return from injury, and Daniel Arzani, who has logged just 19 cumulative minutes at Hungarian side Ferencváros in the new campaign.
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The familiar cohort is represented in the form of Martin Boyle, who shapes as a potential captain for the games and whose ten international goals are equal to the combined total of the other 24 members of the squad, Jordan Bos, Kye Rowles, Lewis Miller, Connor Metcalfe, Miloš Degenek, and Cameron Burgess. Most of that established group, one would imagine, would be amongst the leading candidates for the final World Cup squad, as well as the likes of Irvine, Behich and Ryan – professionals that Popovic knows can be counted on to arrive prepared and do their jobs without too much worry.
Now, is Friday’s squad one that’s good enough to beat New Zealand twice? Absolutely. But given that the All Whites squad that’s been named for this series has a case to be considered the country’s best-ever, Australia could lose one or both games, too. Yet when accounting for the circumstances, it’s a squad that, in hindsight, shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise. Dropped into the Socceroos role with just weeks to prepare for crunch qualifiers against Japan and China, Popovic’s entire focus since assuming the role has centred on securing qualification for the World Cup, which he did, undefeated and without needing a playoff. With the stakes so high, the scope for experimentation and spreading the net wide was narrow to non-existent. Now, with the luxury of time and some low-stakes fixtures, he’s tinkering and trying new players.
The headlines, of course, have centred on the presence of Irankunda, Segečić, Botić, and Milanović — the former in line to make his first appearance since Popovic’s first game in charge against China and the latter trio all called into camp for the first time. That’s with good reason, too, given that they not only are a quartet that possesses the potential to be mainstays of the Socceroos for years to come but that this potential also centres on their game-breaking ability to unlock a defence and find a way to put the ball in the back of the net; something the national side has long pursued. The presence of Touré should also be noted here, even if he was in the June squad, given that he and Botić represent out-and-out nines.
Segečić and Irankunda have been the subject of much fanfare during their absence from national team squads, and now that a call-up has come, there is a sense that the focus will be on far more than they and their inexperienced teammates play when they head into camp. Because the journey doesn’t end with a call-up into the Socceroos. If anything, that’s the easy bit.
Under the watchful eye of Popovic and his staff, the young cohort coming into the side will now need to deliver. They’ll be required to back up the ‘call me’ celebrations and media and public fanfare that has surrounded their rise and demonstrate to Popovic that they not only have the talent to contribute – which few would argue they don’t possess – but that they’re able to do everything else that the coach demands of his players at the international level. That they’re not only talented but that they’re ‘elite’ in the manner that Popovic demands — expectations that he feels the established members of the squad truly began to grasp back in March.
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For the young attackers, there’s the matter of how they’ll actually fit into the 3-4-2-1 system that has been implemented, one that sees the wingers frequently inverting inside to serve as tens that get into the box while the wingbacks bomb up the touchline. At his best when he can get out in space and run at defenders, Irankunda struggled with this role during his lone appearance for the Socceroos under the new coaching staff and while Segečić and Milanović would appear to have skillsets more suited — particularly the latter, who shapes as a potential breakout star this window — it’s ultimately Popovic that will judge whether they’re doing the things that he expects of them in that role.
Having been plugging away in Croatia for years and able to play multiple positions across the frontline, Kalik could spring a surprise and outperform all of them. And with the likes of Goodwin, Velupillay, McGree, Arzani, Tilio, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Brandon Borrello, Adam Taggart, Kusini Yengi, and yes, even Mitch Duke, waiting in the wings, the coach won’t hesitate to move on with a World Cup looming.
Because Popovic, both through words and actions, has demonstrated that he’s not just looking to name the most talented Socceroos squad when he names them, but, instead, what he envisions as being the group that can best operate as the sum of their parts. He’s even gone so far as to declare a lack of regular minutes as not being a dealbreaker in his selections. One can quibble as to whether or not the collective sum envisioned by the one-time World Cup defender actually represents the best realisation of Australia’s cumulative talent, but that’s the underlying logic employed.
Velupillay is perhaps the best example of this: raising many an eyebrow when he was brought into the side only to respond by scoring goals in three of his five appearances, including in both of his starts. He was familiar with the system that Popovic was deploying and what roles, responsibilities, and areas on the pitch were his responsibility. Should he get back to fitness for the start of the A-League Men season, don’t be surprised to see him back in camp in November.
And this same logic follows for every position on the pitch. Balard has done plenty to earn a call-up through his play at Dutch side NAC Breda but after receiving advice from Popovic about what he wanted to see following a May training camp, will now be tasked with applying this counsel with the knowledge that Irvine will return next window and that Cáceres, Cammy Devlin, Massimo Luongo, and more are all coming for his place. Having played just a single game for Portsmouth this season -- and staring down a death of minutes moving forward, given that appearance came in a League Cup loss to Reading -- Mathews will need to show all he can to keep Geria, Trewin, Thomas Deng, and Jack Iredale at bay.
Ultimately, the squad unveiled on Friday is an exciting one. It’s full of players that have the potential to go on from here and force their way into Popovic’s plans for the World Cup. But it’s also a squad that has plenty to prove. And that process will start the moment they touch down in the ACT.
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It’s a very exciting squad. I do worry though that Popa’s inflexibility may lead to Irankunda’s talents not being effectively utilised. As mentioned in the article, playing as an inverted winger does not suit his strengths. A bit of a tweak to allow him to bomb down the wing causing chaos could be a game changer.