Australia’s 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup includes 17 World Cup debutants, with two uncapped players, Tete Yengi and Cristian Volpato, among the newcomers [1, 2]. The average age of the squad is 26.8 years, making it the second-youngest Socceroos team selected for a World Cup after 2014 [3].

The squad also features 11 players with fewer than 10 caps, including 18-year-old Lucas Herrington and 22-year-old Mohamed Toure [1, 2, 3]. Despite their youth and inexperience, coach Tony Popovic says the team is stronger than the 2022 Socceroos lineup and expects high performance. "We weren’t poor players four years earlier. We were very good players. We were a great group. Four years later, we’re much better, so these boys will be good now," he said [1].

Popovic highlighted that while the squad is young, he would not select any player who is "not good enough now." He said, "Will they be better in four and eight years? Without a doubt. But that’s not to say they’re not good enough now. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t play them" [2].

The squad blends youth with experience, including veterans like Mathew Leckie, Mathew Ryan, and Jackson Irvine [3]. Among the newcomers, Yengi, a 1.97m tall forward based in Japan and younger brother of Kusini Yengi, received a late call-up to the pre-tournament camp [1, 2]. Volpato recently switched his international allegiance from Italy to Australia and joined the team in California [1, 2, 3]. Popovic praised Volpato as "a very talented player" with considerable growth potential, which he said reflects the team's overall makeup [1].

Popovic drew on his own experience, recalling how he matured over an 8-10 year cycle as a player to offer a positive example to the team: "We lost against Uruguay and were really bullied in the second leg. That same group played four years later and didn’t get bullied. That’s maturity" [3].

On May 31, Australia lost 1-0 in a friendly against Mexico at the Rose Bowl, where neither Yengi nor Volpato played [1, 2]. The Socceroos will have their final warm-up match against Switzerland in San Diego on June 6 before launching their 2026 World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 13 in Vancouver [1, 2]. Australia’s other group opponents are the United States and Paraguay [1, 2].