Click here to see the full Australia World Cup squad on the Flashscore website.
Starting goalkeeper: Maty Ryan
Age: 34
Market value: AU$3.0 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.97 (out of 10)
Fun fact: Ryan played three games on loan for beloved childhood club Arsenal, who he would get up as early as 4am to watch on TV when growing up in Australia.
Australia's 34-year-old captain will join a short list of Socceroos to play at a fourth World Cup when he leads the team out against Turkey and he recently enjoyed one of his finest and most consistent club seasons, keeping La Liga minnows Levante afloat against the odds as they finished ahead of relegated Mallorca on head-to-head difference.
Ryan's three saves and clean sheet against Mallorca on the penultimate matchday would prove to be the difference between survival and relegation and his nine clean sheets throughout the 2025/26 La Liga, five of which were recorded in their last eight games, was the ninth most of any goalkeeper in the competition.
Left wing back: Jordy Bos
Age: 23
Club: Feyenoord (Eredivisie)
Market value: AU$20.5 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 7.30
Fun fact: Bos' Dutch father has supported Feyenoord throughout his entire life, as have other members of his family on the paternal side.
Bos reportedly set what was at the time a record transfer fee for any A-League player moving to Europe (although it was undisclosed publicly) when he went from Melbourne City to Belgian club KVC Westerlo, and he has since impressed the Eredivisie as an athletic and attacking wing-back for Eredivisie club Feyenoord.
An average Flashscore match rating of 7.3 out of 10 is outstanding for a 28-game club season, particularly in a well-regarded league such as the Eredivisie.
His international career went to the next level when he scored for the Socceroos against both Cameroon and Curaçao during the March 2026 'FIFA Series' of friendlies, which should only intensify his hunger to find the back of the net at his first World Cup.
Centre back: Lucas Herrington
Age: Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Club: 18
Market value: AU$2.3 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 7.11
Fun fact: Herrington is the youngest player to have played the maximum number of minutes (1,350) this MLS season.
Despite his youthful age, there are enormous wraps on Herrington right around the Australian football community.
As a 17-year-old, prior to his inaugural move overseas, Herrington was hailed by then-Brisbane Roar head coach Ruben Zadkovich as "the best defender in Australian football" even before making his A-League debut.
He has quickly settled in as a rock of the Colorado Rapids back third, and it reportedly took only one Socceroos training session in March 2026 for Tony Popovic to be convinced that Herrington would be one of his three starting centre backs at the World Cup.
Centre back: Harry Souttar
Age: 27
Club: Leicester City (Championship)
Market value: AU$5.6 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 7.32
Fun fact: Harry's brother, John, has been selected to represent the Scotland squad at this World Cup.
Towering over his teammates at 1.98m, Harry is the tallest outfield player to ever represent the Socceroos.
Souttar presents an obvious aerial threat at both ends of the pitch and history is set to repeat for the 27-year-old, who in 2022 came back from an ACL injury to play at the last World Cup and land himself a move from Championship side Stoke City to Premier League club Leicester City.
He has represented Leicester only a handful of times due to a loan move to Sheffield United and another long-term injury that kept him out of most of the 2025/26 season, but Souttar has regained full fitness at the perfect time and completed some solid stints in both of Australia's warm-up matches.
Centre back: Alessandro Circati
Age: 22
Market value: AU$19.4 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.77
Fun fact: Alessandro's father, Gianfranco, also played professional football as a centre back - representing several Serie B and Serie C clubs as well as Perth Glory in the old NSL.
Circati is by far the most expensive and valuable of Australia's three central defenders and comes to North America off the back of 31 Serie A games for Parma, who finished in 13th place with only 46 goals conceded across 38 matches - an excellent return that Circati was significantly responsible for.
He became Australia's youngest captain in more than 40 years when wearing the armband against New Zealand last year, in addition to leading Parma three times last season despite his youthful age.
Circati was part of the Perth Glory academy during Popovic's time as head coach and the two should have a deep relationship as a result.
Right wing back: Jacob Italiano
Age: 24
Club: Grazer AK (Austrian Bundesliga)
Market value: AU$957k
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.72
Fun fact: Italiano is the A-League's fifth-youngest debutant and was purchased as a 16-year-old by Borussia Mönchengladbach, who loaned him back to Perth Glory until he turned 18.
As his surname suggests - yep, you guessed it - Italiano was eligible for play for Italy as a dual citizen.
A conversation with Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon reportedly influenced his decision to opt for his country of birth rather than his country of heritage, as did his successful journey with the Olyroos team where he played in both the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship and the WAFF U-23 Championship before making his first team debut.
He has demonstrated versatility for Austrian club Grazer AK, primarily playing as an attacking right midfielder, but Popovic's formation allows him plenty of licence to move forward with the ball as a wing back for the green and gold.
Central midfield: Aiden O'Neill
Age: 27
Club: New York City (MLS)
Market value: AU$4.6 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.88
Fun fact: O'Neill owns the world record for the longest time elapsed between goals recorded in the same match (156,956), having scored twice in an A-League Melbourne Derby which was halted in December 2022 and resumed in April 2023. He scored on both days in a Melbourne City win.
O'Neill is set to be the anchor man at the centre of the park, maintaining a crucially high passing accuracy rate to ensure that the wing backs and two inverted wingers can get as much possession as possible.
Don't expect to see a great deal of direct goal contributions from the 27-year-old, who has registered just one assist in 35 league appearances for New York City FC but has nonetheless become a pivotal cog in the NYCYC core as they look to challenge for the playoffs in 2026.
Central midfield: Jackson Irvine
Age: 33
Club: St. Pauli (Bundesliga)
Market value: AU$1.5 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.50
Fun fact: Irvine is a passionate musician and maintains his connection to music by curating a personal vinyl collection and hosting a monthly radio show in Germany called 'Heimspiel' (Home Game).
Irvine would be one of Popovic's first selections for every competitive match because of the wealth of experience he brings to the lineup, boasting more than 80 first team appearances for the Socceroos.
14 of them came during the qualifying stages where he scored three of his 14 goals for Australia, writing himself into national team folklore with Player of the Match performances against both Indonesia (two goals) and China (one goal) in March 2025 when the Socceroos secured their place at this tournament.
Irvine is one of the most recognisable figures in the squad for his long hair, captivating fashion sense and unapologetic left-wing activism, but it's his discipline on the field that will see him as the senior midfielder at his third World Cup.
Left wing: Connor Metcalfe
Age: 26
Club: St. Pauli (Bundesliga)
Market value: AU$2.2 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.47
Fun fact: Metcalfe describes himself as akin to an anathema of the "personality" of St. Pauli, which embraces punk rock, alternative fashion and other underground creative subcultures.
The starting lineup in the opening warm-up game against Mexico at the Rose Bowl dropped a big hint about Popovic's ideal midfield and observant readers would have noticed the St Pauli logo twice in the starting XI.
An assist during the Socceroos' 1-1 draw with Switzerland has surely done enough to confirm his starting position despite an unsuccessful German Bundesliga season in which he and close friend Irvine were unable to keep St. Pauli in the top-flight.
Metcalfe threw himself into the headlines head-first last week when telling reporters he was "sick of" American pundits writing off the Socceroos' chances of advancing to the Round of 16, promising to use the "rubbish" as fuel in the fire.
From Metcalfe, you can expect plenty of energy and incisive passing throughout the tournament.
Central striker: Mohamed Touré
Age: 22
Club: Norwich City (Championship)
Market value: AU$12.3 million
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 7.38
Fun fact: Touré is the youngest goalscorer in A-League history, striking for Adelaide United as a 15-year-old in 2020.
Touré made a mid-season move from Denmark to England and dominated the second tier Championship from the moment he set foot, scoring in a 40-minute debut cameo just three days before heading to Oxford and dazzling with a hat-trick in his maiden start.
13 goal contributions in 12 club games later, the 22-year-old is embarking on his first World Cup journey despite playing in only one qualifier.
He has done his walking and talking on the club stage over the last 12 months and will be hoping to transfer that form into the gold of the Socceroos.
Right wing: Mathew Leckie
Age: 35
Club: Melbourne City (A-League)
Market value: AU$450k
Average Flashscore league rating in 2025/26: 6.66
Fun fact: Like many other talented Australian athletes who fell into other sports, Leckie had his eyes set on an AFL career during childhood.
This has to be by far the most difficult position to predict as there does not appear to be any clear incumbent nor any major standout, not to mention the late addition of Cristian Volpato into the final squad throwing a cat amongst the pigeons as far as selection goes.
Anyone familiar with Volpato's Serie A play will know why he was welcomed to the squad by Popovic upon confirming his new allegiance, with Socceroos legends such as John Aloisi and Mark Schwarzer united in backing what has been a divisive selection given Volpato's absence throughout the entire qualification cycle.
The youngster had not trained with the squad prior to their friendly against Mexico and was an irregular starter for Sassuolo at the back end of the Serie A season, bringing into question his capability of seeing out 60+ minutes and being fully integrated into Popovic's gameplan.
That's where 35-year-old Leckie comes in. Leckie made a recent return from injury but played a whole 120 minutes in an A-League semi-final loss to Auckland FC, started in right midfield against Mexico, and is a trusted veteran who Popovic is intimately familiar with.
We're expecting Volpato to grow into the tournament and perhaps even impress off the bench, but with Metcalfe also a right midfield option, experience is likely to prevail for the first game in cool Vancouver conditions.
