The start of a new World Cup cycle for the Socceroos gets underway on Friday night, with Australia taking on five-time world champions Brazil in a two-game series that starts in Townsville before moving to Brisbane on Tuesday.
The fixtures come just months after Tony Popovic’s side exited the last World Cup in North America after a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Egypt in the Round of 32, and while there are plenty of familiar faces in the squad named by the manager, there’s also a healthy dose of new blood.
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The first matches after a World Cup usually carry a homecoming vibe, where fans can salute the players who captured the attention of a nation at the tournament, but with an Asian Cup coming up in just over three months, there’s little time to waste when it comes to seeing whether those who weren’t quite ready to feature at football’s global showpiece might have a role to play in the pursuit of regional glory.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to test ourselves against top-level opposition,” midfielder Jackson Irvine said.
“I think it’s a really exciting one for us, to come off the back of the World Cup and progress even further with our football, with new players, a chance to take the next step again.
“We need to take another step. We did amazing things over the summer, but we’ve got another tournament coming and, for us to grow, we have to look to progress.
“This is a great chance for us to test ourselves.”
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NEW PLAYERS TO WATCH
Popovic named seven uncapped players in what is now a 25-player squad after the withdrawal of Norwich City striker Mo Toure and Cardiff City midfielder Alex Robertson due to injury and medical reasons, respectively.
Nishan Velupillay, now playing for German third-tier club FC Ingolstadt, has been added in their place.
Five players – Marcus Younis (Brondby IF), Yaya Dukuly (NK Celje), Kealey Adamson (QPR), Eli Adams (Gamba Osaka) and Jacob Chapman (St Mirren) – have been called up for the first time.
Dylan Leonard (Alemannia Aachen) and Kasey Bos (Excelsior Rotterdam) are back in camp, having previously been called up by the national team, but are yet to make their senior international debuts.
Younis, Dukuly and Adams shape as the most exciting inclusions, with the trio agents of chaos in the front third. They’re the type of players with creative flair, an eye for goal, and the composure to combine the two.
This might be the start of Younis’ journey as a Socceroo, but expect him to be ever-present on the road to the next World Cup. The 21-year-old is currently playing regular minutes for Brondby in the Danish Superliga and has two goals and an assist from 10 games in all competitions so far this season.
It follows a stunning loan spell with Melbourne City last season, when he racked up eight goals and five assists in 15 games. The Western Sydney Wanderers academy product is mainly a winger but can also play as an attacking midfielder.
Dukuly is another player who does his best work out wide. The 23-year-old moved to Slovenian top-flight side NK Celje this season from Adelaide United and has already been involved in Champions League qualifiers and Europa League games.
Eli Adams is now at Gamba Osaka in Japan after a hugely impressive two-season stint with the Newcastle Jets, where he departed with 20 goals and six assists to his name from 52 games. Adams is a defender’s nightmare and is the type of player who always seems to arrive at the right place at the right time. The 24-year-old is also deadly from free kicks.
All three are excitement machines, but how Popovic integrates them during this camp remains to be seen given the size of the challenge posed by Brazil. The trio would slot in nicely in the squad long-term alongside Connor Metcalfe, Cristian Volpato, Nestory Irankunda and Riley McGree as attacking options behind or either side of a striker.
“For them, I think it’s a reality check, especially when it comes to Friday and the game,” defender Milos Degenek said of the experience awaiting the younger players in camp.
“I think it’s very important for the coaches to have a look at the new faces they have in here, to put them through a test – if I may say – where they have to experience 30,000 or 40,000 people and playing against Brazil; one of the best teams in the world and for them to see if these boys are ready for the Asian Cup.”
WHO IS BACK BUT MISSED THE WORLD CUP SQUAD DUE TO INJURY?
Oh, how the Socceroos could’ve used Riley McGree and Patrick Yazbek at the World Cup. McGree hurt his hamstring in the second half of Middlesbrough’s Championship playoff final against Hull. It was the last game McGree needed to get through before he would’ve joined up with his Australian teammates in America.
Yazbek suffered a nasty quad injury during the warm-up of Nashville’s CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Tigres in early May.
McGree is one of the most technically gifted players in the Australian set-up and not only has an eye for goal, but possesses the ability to produce a smart pass in the final third that can unlock stubborn defences.
Yazbek is an all-action midfielder, like Jackson Irvine, capable of covering the back four then surging forward to join in attacking raids.
Both players shape as likely inclusions in Popovic’s Asian Cup squad.
WHO MISSED OUT FROM THE WORLD CUP SQUAD?
Socceroos captain Mat Ryan was the biggest name missing when Popovic announced his squad for this window. The goalkeeper has been in relatively strong form for Levante UD in La Liga, but was left out as Popovic looks at other goalkeeping options, including Jacob Chapman, who plays for St Mirren in Scotland.
Patrick Beach was preferred as Australia’s starter at the World Cup, and whether the 34-year-old Ryan’s absence continues beyond this window and into games against Qatar and Jordan in November will be something to keep an eye on.
Mo Toure, Cameron Burgess, Cristian Volpato, Jordan Bos and Kai Trewin weren’t considered due to injury, while Ajdin Hrustic, Cameron Devlin, Awer Mabil and Mathew Leckie missed out.
Toure sidelined for Brazil friendlies | 01:00
HOW STRONG IS THE BRAZIL SQUAD?
Any team coached by the legendary Carlo Ancelotti and able to call on Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Barcelona captain Raphinha immediately falls into the strong category.
Those two superstars will be joined by Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes, PSG’s Marquinhos, Manchester United’s Andrey Santos, Douglas Luiz of Juventus, Real Madrid’s Endrick and Chelsea’s Estevao and Joao Pedro.
It is the first time the Selecao has played since their Round of 16 exit at the hands of Norway at the World Cup, and Ancelotti has indicated the squad is part of Brazil’s build towards the next cycle, including the 2028 Copa America and 2030 World Cup.
WHAT IS THE HEAD-TO-HEAD LIKE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES?
The Socceroos and Brazil have met 11 times since their first ever clash in 1988. Nine of those games have been ‘A’ internationals, with Australia winning one and drawing two of the eleven encounters.
The lone victory came in the third-place-play-off game at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. The Socceroos got home 1-0 in Ulsan in South Korea thanks to a goal from Shaun Murphy.
It’s the first match between the two sides in almost 10 years.
An Ange Postecoglou-coached Socceroos outfit lost to the South American giants 4-0 in front of almost 50,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2017.
Milos Degenek, Jackson Irvine and Aziz Behich were involved on that night and have the chance to feature again in Townsville and Brisbane.
WHEN IS THE ASIAN CUP AND CAN AUSTRALIA WIN IT?
While glamour friendlies against the might of Brazil are interesting, the immediate goal is preparing the Socceroos for the Asian Cup in January.
The tournament gets underway, from a Socceroos perspective, against Singapore in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, on January 9. Australia will also face Graham Arnold’s Iraq and Tajikistan in Group D, with the three games coming in the space of 10 days.
The Socceroos’ only Asian Cup title came in 2015, and the pool of players Popovic will choose his squad from is more than capable of adding a second.
The Asian Cup has proved to be a tricky task in the past, though.
The Socceroos have been eliminated in the quarter-finals in three of their five attempts. Australia is currently ranked 28th on the FIFA standings which puts them behind 17th-ranked Japan and 22nd-ranked Iran in terms of AFC rivals.
“I’m really, really confident in what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years and what we’re doing at the moment, going forward and going into this Asian Cup,” Degenek said.
“I’m really, really confident that we can do something special.”