Copyright news
Popovic’s past two national squads didn’t include any A-League stars because the domestic 2025-26 campaign had yet to begin. And if there was an assumption that next month’s Socceroos contingent would include several A-League players fighting to go to next year’s FIFA World Cup, Popovic has suggested otherwise, which could mean disappointing news for the likes of Kai Trewin (Melbourne City), Anthony Caceres (Macarthur FC), Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers), Aziz Behich (Melbourne City), Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United) and Adam Taggart (Perth Glory). “It’s not about particularly saying A-League players are getting an opportunity – Australian players are getting an opportunity,” said Popovic, who has been at A-League games for the past two weeks. “The A-League hadn’t started for the first two windows in September and October. That’s unfortunate for (those players). “We’re just generally watching to see, (and) it doesn’t necessarily mean for now, for this camp, if there is someone that we can see their potential that we can track going into June that could be a surprise for the World Cup.” That’s at least “encouraging” news for young stars Alex Badolato (Newcastle) and Max Caputo (Melbourne City), who have started the season with a bang with four and three goals respectively. “They’ve done well. I saw them both play at the World (Under-20) Cup, so to see them, from that experience, come back to the A- League, just continue on and really help their clubs and put in very good individual performances, that’s encouraging,” Popovic said. “They’re two talented young players that hopefully can keep playing. They have to be consistent, and they have to do it over and over again (to be considered) for the Socceroos level. “A lot of young players from last year (in the A-League) went overseas … so this could be two more players that at the end of the year, we’re looking at them going somewhere also, but they’ll have to maintain their level, and hopefully they can keep repeating it.” Popovic also urged all players, regardless of whether they were based in Australia or overseas, not to get disheartened if they failed to make the cut for the World, as there were other tournaments on the horizon, including the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. “If there are players that miss out (on the World Cup), but we see that they’re on the right track, there’s an Asian Cup coming up, and obviously another campaign,” he said. “We feel we will get a lot out of these games (against Venezuela and Colombia) in terms of learning more about existing players and hopefully more about new players that come into our environment. “We’re building depth. We want to create competition. We don’t want any players to feel that they are going to a World Cup and they will be playing at the World Cup. “I don’t believe that that’s right because you’re looking at possibly 26 players going to the World Cup. They all need to contribute.”
