Tony Popovic has rung the changes ahead of the Socceroos’ date with World Cup destiny next week, bringing in some new faces and old favourites while handing Daniel Arzani an international lifeline – less than two months after publicly dressing him down.
More than a third of Popovic’s last squad has been turned over, with his new-look 26-man selection revealed on Friday ahead of Australia’s upcoming qualifiers against Indonesia and China.
While his hand has been forced to a large degree by injury, with regulars Harry Souttar, Riley McGree and Jordy Bos among five players from his last squad currently sidelined, some of Popovic’s decisions will raise eyebrows, with his inclusions just as intriguing as his exclusions.
The most contentious call-up might be Arzani, who was put on notice Popovic for his lacklustre performances in training during the October window.
In a roundtable interview with reporters two months ago, Popovic said of his former charge at Melbourne Victory: “He knows what I think of him, so I’ll be telling you something now that he knows: It wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough in October. His level was really poor in training. Now maybe for him, it’s okay, but it’s not enough.”
Arzani has hardly set the world on fire since, but finds himself in the squad – ahead of Socceroos veteran Mathew Leckie and wunderkind Nestory Irankunda, who was named the February player of the month at Grasshoppers, the Swiss club where he has been sent on loan by Bayern Munich.
SOCCEROOS SQUAD FOR MARCH WINDOW
GOALKEEPERS: Mat Ryan (RC Lens), Paul Izzo (Randers), Thomas Glover (Middlesbrough), Patrick Beach (Melbourne City)*
DEFENDERS: Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town), Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata), Kye Rowles (D.C. United), Kai Trewin (Melbourne City), Miloš Degenek (FK TSC Bačka Topola), Alex Grant (Sydney FC), Jason Davidson (Panserraikos), Aziz Behich (Melbourne City), Lewis Miller (Hibernian), Fran Karačić (NK Lokomotiva)
MIDFIELDERS: Jackson Irvine (FC St Pauli), Aiden O’Neill (Standard de Liège), Nectarios Triantis (Hibernian), Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC), Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory)
FORWARDS: Kusini Yengi (Portsmouth), Adam Taggart (Perth Glory), Craig Goodwin (Al Wehda), Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Marco Tilio (Melbourne City), Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory), Daniel Arzani (Melbourne Victory)
* denotes train-on player only
Australia must win both of their upcoming matches – next Thursday night against Indonesia in Sydney and then away to China five days later – to keep alive their hopes of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup from a tight Group C.
“It was a whirlwind start to the beginning of my tenure with the national team, and since November we’ve had the chance to review and assess all facets of our program ahead of these qualifiers,” Popovic said.
“We understand the importance of these upcoming games and are excited by the opportunity to further cement our position in the group’s automatic qualifying positions.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the players and getting the squad together on the pitch in preparation for what will be a great occasion at the Sydney Football Stadium.”
POPOVIC’S CHANGES FROM NOVEMBER WINDOW
IN: Daniel Arzani, Jason Davidson, Thomas Glover, Alex Grant, Fran Karačić, Ryan Teague, Marco Tilio, Nectarios Triantis, Kai Trewin.
OUT: Jordy Bos, Joe Gauci, Hayden Matthews, Riley McGree, Harry Souttar (all injured), Max Balard, Mitchell Duke, Rhyan Grant, Ajdin Hrustic, Patrick Yazbek (all omitted).
There are six uncapped players in the squad, with four of them called up for the first time: Nectarios Triantis, who is enjoying a career-best season in Scotland with Hibernian, and locally-based trio Ryan Teague, Kai Trewin and Alex Grant.
Teague is the A-League’s standout midfielder, Trewin is a defender who has taken his game to the next level since switching from Brisbane Roar to Melbourne City, and Grant has recently joined Sydney FC after four impressive years in Asia – but while he was named in the K.League’s best XI in 2023, he was never called up by former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
Grant, 31, will finally get his chance, fresh off helping the Sky Blues reach the AFC Champions League 2 semi-finals after a 3-2 win over Korean outfit Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Thursday night.
Popovic has also handed Socceroos returns to Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart, who gets the nod ahead of Western United’s golden boot leader Noah Botic, as well as 2015 Asian Cup winner Jason Davidson, now based in Greece, and defender Fran Karacic, who has returned to regular football in Croatia and offers a much-needed alternate option to Lewis Miller at right wing-back.
Mitch Duke, Australia’s war horse up front, has been left out following a difficult start to his season in Japan, where he has barely featured for Machida Zelvia.
There are nine players in total from the A-League, including Victory winger Nishan Velupillay and Western Sydney Wanderers star Brandon Borrello, with Popovic clearly satisfied with the standard of the competition by selecting so many from it and shunning European-based candidates like NAC Breda’s Max Balard, Hibernian’s Jack Iredale and Derby County’s Callum Elder.
No players from the Young Socceroos’ U20 Asian Cup-winning team, however, have made the cut, with Popovic opting to go for more tried and tested players rather than potential, which is understandable in these high-stakes circumstances.
