Australia head coach Tony Popovic has selected a 25-man squad for the September internationals against New Zealand, dubbed the 'ANZAC Ashes' in what will be their first meeting with the All Whites since a friendly in 2023.
In what will be the Socceroos' first outing since they booked their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Popovic looks to be using the opportunity to test his squad depth after giving four men their first international call-ups, selecting a further three with squad experience but no caps, and recalling eight further players.
The recalled octet are Nestory Irankunda (Watford), Jordan Bos (Feyenoord), Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles Almelo), Fran Karacic (Hajduk Split), Tom Glover (Middlesbrough), Max Balard (NAC Breda), Hayden Matthews (Portsmouth) and Sam Silvera (Middlesbrough).
Segecic's selection is especially interesting as the 21-year-old made no secret of his option to represent Croatia at international level through his heritage, successfully forcing Popovic's hand this week.
Shortly after making his 100th appearance for Australia in Jeddah, 33-year-old goalkeeper Mat Ryan has been omitted having not played a club game this season. He has been recently signed by La Liga club Levante as part of his bid to reclaim his starting position for the World Cup.
Players currently contracted to A-League clubs have been overlooked for the squad due to the league being out of season.
“I always had faith and confidence in our ability to not only qualify for the World Cup but continue growing as a team. The players have done an outstanding job in securing World Cup qualification, and now the focus on 2026 begins,” Popovic said in a media release.
“We’re in the early stages of this journey, but all our energies are now focused on continuing to drive the elite standards that we aspire to and achieving our best result at a World Cup. We want to do something special and make our nation proud.
“We’re excited to be back in camp for the first time after qualifying for the World Cup and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against another team that’s qualified for the World Cup, in New Zealand.”
The Socceroos will be hosting New Zealand's All Whites in Canberra next Friday before heading to Auckland for the return leg on Tuesday 9 September.
Socceroos squad v New Zealand:
(international caps in brackets)
Max Balard (0), Jordan Bos (19), Noah Botic (0), Martin Boyle (34), Cameron Burgess (17)
Alessandro Circati (5), Miloš Degenek (49), Joe Gauci (gk) (7), Tom Glover (gk) (0), Ajdin Hrustic (31)
Nestory Irankunda (5), Paul Izzo (gk) (0), Anthony Kalik (0), Fran Karačić (15), Hayden Matthews (1)
Connor Metcalfe (26), Nicolas Milanovic (0), Lewis Miller (13), Aiden O'Neill (21), Kye Rowles (25)
Adrian Segecic (0), Sam Silvera (7), Ryan Teague (3), Mohamed Touré (2), Patrick Yazbek (2)
