Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is keeping the door ajar for Mathew Leckie and Harry Souttar, two of the heroes of Australia’s last World Cup, as he underlined the importance of their intangible qualities ahead of next month’s tournament in North America.
Popovic departs on Wednesday for the team’s pre-World Cup training camp in Sarasota, Florida, and will be joined by a group of eight players – among them Leckie and Souttar, who starred for the Socceroos at Qatar 2022 but are lacking match fitness due to debilitating injuries they have recently overcome.
But if they can demonstrate that their bodies are sound enough to stand up to the rigours of what’s ahead, they seem to be assured of selection in Popovic’s 26-man squad after he talked in glowing terms on Monday about how they had both developed a level of “mental resilience that you can’t buy”.
Leckie, 35, scored the decisive goal against Denmark to secure Australia’s progression to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, but has only played four games this year after recovering from surgery on his hip and is clearly in the twilight of his career.
However, his most recent game – a 120-minute shift in midfield for Melbourne City in their losing A-League elimination final against Auckland FC on the weekend – showed that, when physically unencumbered, he can still produce football of the highest calibre.
And it was a timely reminder that while everyone – including Popovic – is rightly excited by some of the Socceroos’ emerging young guns, it’s big-game experience that counts at the World Cup.
“If you watch the game that was just played, Mathew Leckie was the best player on the park at 35, with no football under his belt. That, a young player can’t do as yet,” Popovic told reporters.
“That’s the difference, and that’s what you need at a World Cup. Now will he make the World Cup? That will come down to his body. But if you just look at the quality of what he could do at 35 with no football under his belt, a young player can’t do that.
“[They] will maybe do it in time with experience and maturity and strength. They offer something different; they offer raw talent … but we’re not talking about friendly games now. We’re talking about the World Cup and I think [Leckie] showed on the weekend the difference.”
Souttar, 27, recovered from an ACL injury only just before the last World Cup but still proved to be one of the Socceroos’ standout performers in Qatar. To be involved at the next one, he will have to run a similar gauntlet.
He has played only two games – a win and a draw for relegated English Championship club Leicester City – since injuring his Achilles in November 2024, but Popovic could not have spoken in more glowing terms about how he performed.
“If you watch those two games, there is presence, there is aura, there is a leader,” he said.
“You can’t get that in a young player overnight. That takes time, and he’s [already] done it at a World Cup when he played also underdone. They’ve shown the resilience and mentality that you need at a World Cup, because you need to be able to suffer, you need to be able to go through tough times … [it’s] on another level again to anything we’ve done so far.”
Popovic has by May 11 to submit to FIFA a 55-player long list – which will not be made public – from which his World Cup squad, due to be announced on June 1, must be drawn.
FIRST EIGHT PLAYERS TO ATTEND SOCCEROOS’ TRAINING CAMP
Harry Souttar (Leicester City), Hayden Matthews (Portsmouth), Anthony Caceres (Macarthur FC), Mitch Duke (Macarthur FC), Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney), Nick D’Agostino (Brisbane Roar), Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City).
Heartbreak is inevitable, with Popovic’s strategy of expanding Australia’s pool of players as wide as possible since securing qualification last year having created a wide field of deserving candidates, not all of whom can make it.
Popovic said about “70 to 80 per cent” of his 26-man squad was settled in his mind, with the training camp in Florida designed to give a chance to those whose seasons have finished early, or have been interrupted by injury, to prove themselves.
More players will join the camp in the coming weeks as their club duties conclude, and the door is closed to no-one, Popovic said – including 20-year-old attacker Marcus Younis, who has been arguably the form player of the A-League over the past four months, but was not named as part of the initial training camp alongside his Melbourne City teammate Leckie.
As always, there will be curveballs. Aiden O’Neill, one of Popovic’s most-used midfielders and a projected World Cup starter, suffered an ankle injury on Monday morning while playing for New York City FC, plunging him into doubt.
“We’ve had a look at the footage, and it’s hard to determine how serious it is,” Popovic said. “We’re awaiting further tests, and we should know more in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
By then, Popovic will have touched down in the United States, and the prospect of coaching his nation at a World Cup – having gone to the 2006 edition as a player – will go from something he’s been anticipating for a long time, to a very real and visceral experience.
The Socceroos will play two friendlies, against Mexico (May 31, AEST) and Switzerland (June 7), before opening their Group D campaign against Turkey on June 14.
“This morning with my son, I got the suitcase out and started putting a few things in,” Popovic said.
“He said, ‘Dad, you’re packing to go to the World Cup.’ And I said, ‘Yes, son, I am.’ So this is it now. I’m excited, honoured, proud. I understand the responsibility, and I’m really excited with the fantastic staff that I have, and a wonderful group of young men that want to be the best they can be … we go there with no fear and understanding the difficulty of it, but also the excitement of it.”
KEY DATES FOR THE SOCCEROOS’ 2026 WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN
- May 5: Pre-camp in Sarasota commences
- May 30: Friendly – Mexico v Australia, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Los Angeles
- May 31: Arrive at base camp in Oakland, Alameda
- June 1: FIFA World Cup 2026™ squads announced
- June 6: Friendly – Switzerland v Australia, Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
- June 13: FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group D – Australia v Türkiye, BC Place, Vancouver
- June 19: FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group D – USA v Australia, Seattle Stadium, Seattle
- June 25: FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group D – Paraguay v Australia, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara
*dates according to local timezones
