By Marco Monteverde
Copyright news
An unused substitute in the Socceroos’ 1-0 win over New Zealand last week in Canberra, attacking weapon Segecic was left out of the match-day squad entirely on Tuesday when Australia sealed the Soccer Ashes with a 3-1 victory over the All Whites in Auckland.
While fellow attacking young guns Mohamed Toure and Nestory Irankunda took major steps towards being part of Australia’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad with matchwinning performances on Tuesday, Segecic, as well as another emerging forward in Austria Vienna striker Noah Botic – who also remains uncapped – will return to their clubs disappointed at not receiving game time in either match.
“We’ve got 25 players (in the squad), we’ve got many boys looking to make their debut, we have to respect all the players, it’s not just one player,” Popovic said.
“(Segecic) has got to keep working. He’s had a taste of the Socceroos now in camp, and he has to go back to his club and work like all the other players, keep performing well, and we’ll see for the next camp.”
Popovic said the games against Canada (October 11, Montreal) and USA (October 15, Denver) would be “fantastic preparation” for next year’s World Cup.
“We’ll assess these games (against New Zealand), review them, and have a plan for what other players we can maybe bring in to have a look at in those pressure environments away from home,” he said.
“Every time you get your squad together you’re trying to do something. You’re either trying to blood new players, or you’re trying to work on your system with or without the ball, you’re trying to do something that ultimately gets you ready for (the World Cup) in June.
“We feel we’re on a journey.”
Popovic was pleased with the Socceroos’ improvement on Tuesday night after being disappointed with some aspects of last Friday’s performance.
His decision to start with Aiden O’Neill and Max Balard in the midfield in Auckland gave the Socceroos more “control” in the engine room.
“They did very well,” the Socceroos mentor said.
Popovic was also pleased with the way Connor Metcalfe and goalscorers Toure and Irankunda worked well together in attack.
“We had the spark of the two boys up front (Toure and Irankunda) that did very well … and I don’t want to leave out Connor out of that picture because he more than played his part in the way that those three combined to score goals and create the chances they did,” he said.
