Tony Popovic said “maybe 70 to 80%” of the Socceroos’ 26-man World Cup roster has been decided, and national team staff are already in the United States working with fringe players, per the report. Popovic will fly to the Florida city of Sarasota on Thursday to take charge of the team’s training camp, a move the report describes as the start of the home straight of the World Cup cycle.
The report says staff on the ground have been putting eight fringe players through their paces. Players will join the camp in a staggered fashion in the weeks ahead, with arrival timings to depend on conditioning, load management and the conclusion of domestic commitments — clubs must have released players by May 25, the report notes.
Popovic told reporters that staggered arrivals are part of the process and that the coaching staff must “arrive at 26 players that we believe can play in any situation at the World Cup, cover all the different possibilities, and get the right balance between the profiles of players.” The coach added that a player performing well might still miss out if another candidate has proven themselves in big games.
The report says Popovic has a history of backing players he trusts but has also shown a willingness to broaden his selection. The likes of Paul Okon, Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Touré established themselves in squads after qualification last year, per the report, and Popovic indicated a similar openness in Sarasota by flagging that a few players who have not previously featured for him may be brought into camp.
Popovic told the media there are “certain areas where we are a little bit light,” and said “there’ll be potentially some players coming in the next week that we want to see that we haven’t had in camp before.” He added “maybe we’ll show everyone that we’re not that set on the squad as you may think. And there’ll be an opportunity for a few younger boys, potentially, to show what they can do in the next seven to 10 days,” per the report.
ESPN has taken a look at how the squad might shape up by position heading into Sarasota, and the report notes the Socceroos face a group-stage clash with Türkiye just over a month away.
