Irankunda Australia now has its final shape: Tony Popovic has named a 26-player squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Seventeen players will go to a World Cup for the first time, while Mat Ryan and Mathew Leckie are in line for a fourth tournament and an Australian record.
Popovic’s 26-player call
The squad is set before the tournament in North America, and the shape of it tells the story. Australia has two uncapped players in Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi, five players based in the A-League, and a group that blends first-timers with the most experienced names available to the coach.
Ryan’s selection puts him level with Leckie on four World Cup squads. That is the clearest sign of where Australia has landed: one end of the roster is brand new to this stage, and the other end is anchored by players who have already lived through three previous campaigns.
Group D and Seattle
Australia’s path begins in Group D, where it will face the United States, Türkiye and Paraguay. The first match listed in the schedule is against the United States on June 19 in Seattle, which gives Popovic’s group a direct opening against the side it must solve first.
That opener is the immediate reference point for the squad announcement. The 26 selected players now know the group they are going into, the opponent that starts it, and the narrow margin for adjustment before the World Cup begins in North America.
Ryan and Leckie record
The tension inside the squad is simple. Australia has 17 first-time World Cup players, but Ryan and Leckie are matching an Australian record with a fourth tournament. Volpato and Yengi add another layer, because their inclusion gives Popovic two uncapped options in a squad that still leans on older tournament experience.
For readers tracking the selection, the practical answer is fixed now: Australia has named its 26, Group D is set, and the team sheet has already told you who starts this World Cup cycle and who arrives with four tournaments of memory behind him.
