Locks, likelies and long shots: who will make the Socceroos’ World Cup squad? | Jack Snape

With a touch over a week to go before Australia coach Tony Popovic names his 26 players, whose ticket is punched and who will be left disappointed?

They are brimming with promise, but with faces not wholly familiar. These are your 2026 Socceroos, who will take to the field against Turkey next month with a lineup dominated by those yet to experience a World Cup.

Coach Tony Popovic is at least someone well-known to the country’s broader sporting consciousness as a veteran of the 2006 tournament. In a training camp in Florida, he is now finalising the 26-player World Cup squad he will name on 1 June.