OAKLAND, California -- Mathew Ryan and Mathew Leckie will go to a record-equalling fourth FIFA World Cup for Australia, while a next generation led by Alessandro Circati, Jordan Bos, Nestory Irankunda, and Mohamed Touré will appear at their first after being named in Tony Popovic's squad.
But there was heartache for Martin Boyle, who joined Kye Rowles, Joe Gauci, and Brandon Borrello as the four players from the extended squad that missed out on the final 26-player unit that will face Türkiye, the United States, and Paraguay in Group D of the tournament.
Boyle was forced to pull out of the 2022 World Cup just days out of the tournament due to an ACL injury, but remained behind on his crutches at the behest of then-coach Graham Arnold to serve as a "Chief Vibes Officer." Four years on, however, the healthy Hibernian attacker has fallen at the final selection hurdle.
Already the joint-record holders for the most World Cup appearances in Socceroo history with 10 apiece, Ryan and Leckie will join Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan as the only Australian men to play at four World Cups with their selections, while fellow veterans Aziz Behich and Jackson Irvine will both head to their third.
On the other end of the experience scale, the squad will feature 17 players making their debut at a World Cup, with 14 of the unit possessing 15 or fewer international appearances and, in Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi, two players yet to make their senior international debuts.
Jason Geria, Aiden O'Neill, Connor Metcalfe, Jacob Italiano, and Cameron Burgess are amongst the more seasoned members of the squad that will also be making their World Cup debuts, with Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Awer Mabil, and Harry Souttar all making their second World Cup squad.
Ryan will be joined by Paul Izzo and Patrick Beach in the squad's keeping union, with the Melbourne City keeper edging out Joe Gauci for the third-choice spot.
For the second-straight tournament, Souttar has recovered from a long-term injury to be named, set to lead a defensive unit also featuring Circati, Burgess, Geria, Bos, Italiano, Behich, Miloš Degenek, Kai Trewin, and 18-year-old-old Lucas Herrington -- one of the youngest World Cup Socceroos in history.
Irvine, O'Neill, Paul Okon Jr, and Cameron Devlin will man the midfield -- Devlin named in his second-straight World Cup squad despite still having yet to log a minute under Popovic -- while Metcalfe, Volpato, Irankunda, Leckie, Awer Mabil, and Hrustić will take up a position further up the pitch.
Still just 22-years-of age, Touré will lead the line for the squad alongside Yengi, who has been the biggest surprise in the squad after going from uncapped late addition to the team's pre-camp in Sarasota to a World Cup squad member.
"A range of factors has gone into selecting this final World Cup squad," Popovic said in a statement.
"Some difficult decisions had to be made - that's the nature of major tournaments.
"But it's also a credit to all the players involved over the past few weeks who worked extremely hard during an extended and challenging pre-camp."
"I'd like to acknowledge the players who contributed to our direct World Cup qualification but are not part of this squad. Their contribution should not be forgotten."
Australia's 2026 FIFA World Cup Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan, Paul Izzo, Patrick Beach
Defenders: Jordy Bos, Aziz Behich, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati, Lucas Herrington, Cameron Burgess, Kai Trewin, Miloš Degenek, Jason Geria, Jacob Italiano
Midfielders: Jackson Irvine, Aiden O'Neill, Paul Okon Jr, Cameron Devlin
Attackers: Connor Metcalfe, Mat Leckie, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, Nestory Irankunda, Awer Mabil, Ajdin Hrustić, Mohamed Touré, Tete Yengi
