A new dawn begins for the Socceroos this week. Fresh off reaching the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup, attention is now turning towards the next World Cup cycle.
The road to North America (Canada, Mexico and the USA) 2026 begins with two upcoming friendlies against Ecuador in Sydney and Melbourne.
Ecuador qualified for last year’s World Cup (defeating Qatar and drawing with the Netherlands) and should provide excellent competition for the Socceroos, particularly with the likes of Brighton midfielder Moisés Caicedo featuring in Ecuador’s squad.
Graham Arnold’s selections demonstrate the need to regenerate his squad for both the Asian Cup later this year and the 2026 World Cup. Of the 26-man squad named, 11 did not feature at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. Whilst injuries to stalwarts Mat Leckie (Melbourne City), Adjin Hrustic (Hellas Verona), Aaron Mooy (Celtic) and Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) have forced changes to the Socceroos squad that travelled to Qatar, Arnold is clearing keen to integrate a raft of fresh faces into his new look group.
Arnold’s squad to face Ecuador include six players who could debut for the Socceroos. Two of these potential debutants have recently made headlines for their promise. Alexander Robertson is currently playing with the Manchester City Under 23 team.
Robertson was included in City’s Champions League matchday squad against RB Leipzig in February. Each day Robertson learns off the brilliant Pep Guardiola and world class midfielders such as Kevin De Bruyne. At 19, Robertson is yet to debut for Manchester City. It will be intriguing to see whether Guardiola places Robertson on loan to further advance his football maturity.
The second potential star is 17-year-old Nestory Irankunda, who has scored four goals for Adelaide United from 14 appearances this season. Irankunda will be sure to attract interest from European clubs over the coming months, in a similar vein to Newcastle United’s acquisition of Garang Kuol from the Central Coast Mariners. His directness and ruthless finishing are of the highest quality. Whilst only added as a train-on player to this squad, Arnold has suggested that there is potential for Irankunda to feature in the second match against Ecuador in Melbourne.
Nestory Irankunda of Adelaide United. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
Of the six potential debutants, a further three compete in the A-League. These include Melbourne City left back Jordan Bos (20 years of age) and midfielder Aiden O’Neill (24 years of age) as well as Adelaide United goalkeeper Joe Gauci (22 years of age). The final potential debutant is right back Ryan Strain (25 years of age), who has impressed throughout his first season in the Scottish Premier League with St. Mirren.
Outside of the potential debutants, Arnold’s squad is full of exciting prospects who are developing across various European leagues.
Following his brilliant World Cup in Qatar, Harry Souttar (24 years of age) has recently signed with English Premier League club Leicester City and is a regular on the team sheet under Brendan Rodgers.
In the Championship, midfielder Riley McGree (24 years of age) is a fan favourite and crucial to Middlesbrough’s Premier League promotion push. Middlesbrough currently sit third in the Championship. In Scotland, Garung Guol (18 years of age) has been loaned to Hearts in the Scottish Premier League by Newcastle to further his development. Guol’s teammates at Hearts, Cameron Devlin and Kye Rowles (both 24 years of age) have continued to develop and are regular starters for Hearts, who sit third behind Celtic and Rangers in the SPL.
In Germany, central midfielder Connor Metcalfe (23 years of age) is improving weekly at St. Pauli, where the ever-consistent Jackson Irvine is captain. St. Pauli sit fifth in Germany’s second division and are in the race for promotion to the Bundesliga.
Jackson Irvine celebrates with Kye Rowles of Australia (Photo by Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
A changing of the guard is occurring with the Socceroos. Excluding the six potential debutants, twelve players within the squad have earned seven caps or fewer for the Socceroos. Several players (McGree, Metcalfe, Souttar and Rowles) were also involved in the Olyroo’s 2-0 victory over Argentina at the 2021 Olympics in Japan, further demonstrating that these youngsters have the capability to outplay the traditional footballing nations.
What is exciting from the above players mentioned is that several of them will theoretically be in their prime for the next World Cup. Club promotions and the continued exposure of Australia’s young guns across Europe may lead to more squad members playing in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A or La Liga in the coming seasons.
How far can the Socceroos go at the 2026 World Cup with this potential level of depth? It will be interesting to see, particularly if dual internationals Cristian Volpato (Roma) and Alessandro Circati (Parma) can be lured to commit their future to the Socceroos.
The Sporting Observerhttps://https://ift.tt/MSvmTF5 blood brings hope that Arnie’s building the most exciting Socceroos squad since 2006 golden generation
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