Socceroos coach Tony Popovic promised the door will remain open for potential World Cup bolters all the way to squad naming deadline day and he delivered two more surprises in his latest selection for the pre-tournament camp in Florida.
English-based youngsters Daniel Bennie and Raphael Borges Rodrigues have come in from the blue to join the second intake of Socceroos to America this week.
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Bennie, who also qualifies for Scotland and his birth nation Hong Kong-born, is a former Perth Glory forward who plays for English Championship team Queens Park Rangers.
He made his QPR debut on January 4 and has played 17 of 20 games since then. He announced himself with a stunning first senior goal against Hull earlier this year – still his only one – with QPR coach Julien Stephan joking afterwards that Bennie had finally produced in a match what he regularly attempted in training.
“He has scored like this during training sessions and I said at the end of the game, ‘Okay, now you are able to do that as well during the game!’” Stephan said.
After initially struggling for opportunities following his move from the A-League, Bennie has also scored three goals in Under 21 competition and one in the EFL Cup.
Borges Rodrigues, who has made 37 appearances for Wigan Athletic in League One this season, has also taken the roundabout route to the Socceroos camp.
The 22-year-old was born in Maastricht in the Netherlands while his father, former Adelaide United striker Cristiano, was playing professionally in Europe, before later moving to Australia.
After emerging through Melbourne City’s academy and scoring six goals in 35 games for Macarthur FC, Borges Rodrigues secured a move to recently promoted Coventry City before spending this season on loan at Wigan Athletic.
Borges Rodrigues has also been used as a wing back this season and it’s an area where Popovic wants more depth.
Popovic called up a further 10 players this week after his initial eight selections. He will need to name a squad of 26 on June 1.
The latest intake also included Cameron Burgess, Mohamed Toure, Nestory Irankunda, Alex Robertson, Ajdin Hrustic and goalkeeper Joe Gauci, who had fallen out of favour after being used by Popovic in his first window in charge.
Melbourne City goalkeeper Patrick Beach is also in the four-way battle for three goalkeeper spots, with Mat Ryan expected to claim the No.1 jersey.
Gauchi, who’s on loan at Port Vale from Aston Villa, hasn’t featured in a Socceroos squad since October, when he remained an unused substitute during friendlies against Canada and the United States.
Beach has leapfrogged Gauci over the past six months, earning his maiden Socceroos cap in the 1-0 loss to Venezuela last November and continuing to impress during Melbourne City’s run to the A-League finals.
Toure in running for award after ‘crazy’ ride
Mo Toure’s blistering form in the Championship has the Socceroos striker in the frame for the competition’s player of the month for April, and he’s been reflecting on his “crazy” ride since joining the club in January.
Toure’s final day goal at Hull City took his tally to 12 goal contributions in his first 11 Championship appearances, following a winter move from Denmark.
“It’s actually been crazy; it’s wild as well, nothing I expected,” Toure told local media this week.
“Of course, I always expected to progress in my game and get better, but I feel like the leaps have surprised both a lot of people and me.”
He was one of 13 Australians playing in the Championship last season, including close mate Nestroy Irankunda at Watford.
“Exciting. Obviously I know that league very well, and I’ve seen a lot of the games that he’s played, and he looks full of confidence,” said Popovic. “His team has really played well in the second half of the year.
“So they’ve done a great job, and I think that has really helped him to settle in quickly, scoring early, so he’s full of confidence and I look forward to seeing him soon.”
Popovic said the young guns showed the Socceroos have a rosy future.
“We’re all excited about the youngsters,” he said. “I think I’m the first to say that I’m very excited about the young group coming through and I’m sure in the next four and eight years we should have a good core group of young players to move the Socceroos forward.”
Irankunda has already been the subject of speculation linking him to Premier League clubs Everton and Crystal Palace after some eye-catching displays.
“That type of (transfer) speculation is positive, so there’s nothing negative about that,” said Popovic.
“If the boy’s doing well and big clubs are looking at him, that’s wonderful. So we shouldn’t look at that as anything that’s not in a positive spirit.”
Irvine’s squeaky bum time
Socceroos captain Jackson Irvine faces a nerve wracking final day relegation shootout in Germany after his St Pauli team suffered a 2-1 defeat away to RB Leipzig in the penultimate round.
St Pauli will host Wolfsburg in a do-or-die clash at the Millerntor-Stadion on Sunday night at 11.30pm AEST, with both clubs level on points and fighting to avoid automatic relegation from the Bundesliga.
Irvine played the full match in St Pauli’s loss to Leipzig – a third straight defeat, that left the Hamburg club second from bottom on the table, level on 26 points with Wolfsburg, who also lost over the weekend to champions Bayern Munich.
He had a late assist in the 3-1 defeat.
Yazbek facing race against time
There are growing concerns surrounding Socceroos midfielder Patrick Yazbek after the Nashville SC player was ruled out of his team’s latest MLS game with a quad injury.
Yazbek missed Nashville’s 2-2 draw against Socceroos teammate Kye Rowles’ DC United, with his coach BJ Callaghan confirming the midfielder would not return to club football before the World Cup break.
“Patrick suffered a quad injury – in terms of a specific timetable, I don’t have one,” Callaghan said. “I can tell you that he will be at least out… he won’t be back before the World Cup break.
“He’s a key piece to what we do, both with the ball and without the ball, but it’s going to be an opportunity for guys to step up.”
Neymar loses the plot
Neymar’s late bid to force his way into Brazil’s World Cup squad took a dramatic turn this week as the superstar forward scored a worldie for Santos just days after slapping a teenage teammate in training.
As always with Neymar, brilliance and controversy follow him wherever he goes in equal measures.
The 34-year-old inspired Santos to a crucial 2-0 victory over Red Bull Bragantino, ending his club’s seven-game winless streak with a performance that had Brazilians frothing about his chances of a shock World Cup recall under Carlo Ancelotti.
That came a few days after Santos opened an internal investigation following an altercation involving Neymar and teammate Robinho Júnior, the 18-year-old son of former Brazil star Robinho.
According to Brazilian media reports, the incident was sparked when Neymar was angered at the apparent disrespect of Robinho Júnior showing him up by dribbling past him at training.
“If you want an apology in front of the press, here it is,” Neymar told reporters. “I had already apologised to him and to his family. I crossed the line.”
The teen apparently accepted Neymar’s apology, saying “Everything is resolved. It’s a situation that upset me because he’s been my idol since childhood.
“I talked about it with my parents and I accept his apology.”
The pair appeared to have moved on with Neymar hugging Robinho Júnior during his goal celebration.
“He’s a boy I like very much, for whom I have a special affection,” Neymar said. “It happens in football; you argue with your friend, your brother.”
Neymar, 34, has not represented Brazil since October 2023 because of recurring injury problems and appeared increasingly unlikely to return to the national set-up earlier this year, before Ancelotti named him in a 55-player long list for the tournament.
Pulisic in the spotlight as form fades
As if ‘Captain America’ Christian Pulisic was not already carrying the weight of a nation heading into a home World Cup, the USA skipper’s lead up in 2026 has been nothing short of horrendous as he finds himself battling a form slump and injuries at the worst possible time.
Pulisic, who plays his club football for AC Milan, has gone 17 club games without a goal this calendar year and missed the weekend’s 3-2 loss to Atalanta with a glute muscle injury.
Pulisic is on the latest cover of Time Magazine, which described him as “the most influential American men’s soccer player in the country’s 250-year history”, a label that will only add more pressure on him as he leads the team into Group D action against the Socceroos, Paraguay and Türkiye.
While Pulisic has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, US teammate Weston McKennie has produced one of the strongest seasons of his career at Juventus heading into the World Cup, and has emerged as a key man for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
“I don’t think I feel fear. I feel butterflies, which is normal,” McKennie told FIFA this week.
“If you don’t feel butterflies, it means you don’t care about what you’re doing. I feel like I’m a player that thrives under pressure, I like to have that responsibility on my shoulders.”
At 27, Pulisic remains the poster boy of American ‘soccer’, but McKennie’s form and mentality may become just as important to the United States’ hopes of finally making a genuine breakthrough at the World Cup.
‘When I think of soccer, I don’t think about the USA’
Big mouth ESPN broadcaster Stephen A. Smith has never been afraid to voice a booming opinion, and he’s taken a dig at the US team in a recent podcast appearance.
“Let’s be clear, I’m not that knowledgeable about soccer, we ain’t gonna lie to nobody about that,” Smith said on The Last Run.
“I don’t know but I will tell you this. When I think of soccer, I do not think of the USA.”
“I am happy when I see us competitive, but when I see Mexico, when I see Brazil, when I see some of these teams in Europe, I am loving it.”
Smith also tackled one of football’s biggest debates, when asked to choose the better player between Lionel Messi, who plays in the USA, and Cristiano Ronaldo, the World Cup’s two biggest names this year.
“Imma say Messi,” said Smith.
“I saw a guy who was considered to be past his prime, an old man in soccer parlance, who came over to the United States and I saw him last season toy with young men.
“It was like they were toddlers and he was a parent. Doing what he wanted, when he wanted and just having fun with them.
“I’m not saying Ronaldo couldn’t do those things, especially against competition in the United States, but sometimes Ronaldo makes things look hard.
“But with Messi, things just don’t look hard. When I am monitoring greatness, it’s almost like the marathon runner. It’s those who make the hard look easy that distinguishes the difference between two people who are great.”
Iran confirm attendance despite on going war
Iran has confirmed it will compete at the tournament but wants guarantees over visas, security and the treatment of players and officials amid ongoing political tensions.
Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran president Mehdi Taj said the country would “definitely” participate in the tournament despite growing concerns surrounding travel restrictions and diplomatic relations with the United States.
However, Taj stressed Iran expected assurances before the tournament begins next year.
“All players and technical staff, especially those who served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, should be granted visas without problems,” Taj said, according to comments carried by state-run agency IRNA.
He added Iran would compete at the World Cup “without retreating from our beliefs, culture and convictions”.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi, one of the country’s most recognisable footballers, completed his mandatory military service through the Revolutionary Guard during his youth, potentially placing him under additional scrutiny when travelling.
New injury scare dominates lead up
In 2002 David Beckham’s foot injury introduced the word ‘metatarsal’ to the football fan’s lexicon. This year we’re hearing more and more about a new blight on players before the tournament.
Cole Palmer, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Argentine teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono have all battled forms of “pubalgia” over the past year, a complicated groin-related condition that is increasingly becoming a major issue.
The injury, which affects the muscles, tendons and nerves surrounding the groin and pelvic area, has proven particularly difficult to diagnose and treat, with players often struggling through pain for months before fully recovering.
England star Palmer recently opened up on the severity of the issue after a tough season with Chelsea.
“I’ve never been injured like this before,” Palmer told The Guardian.
“I’m sat there on the side for over three months. I came back in early December, Leeds away. I came on for 30 minutes, and I couldn’t even sprint. I could just about pass it. I couldn’t play long balls, couldn’t even shoot. But I wanted to play so much. I was trying to play and it was just too strange.
“I didn’t know how to manage it. That’s probably part of it.”
Palmer has missed more than 20 matches for club and country this season and admitted earlier this year that even when he was playing, basic actions like shooting and passing remained painful.
Barcelona wonderkid Yamal has also dealt with recurring groin complications after undergoing a specialised procedure late last year, raising concerns over the workload being placed on teenage stars before they even reach their first World Cup.
The issue is not entirely new though. Lionel Messi famously struggled with pubalgia for years during his Barcelona career and described it in 2019 as an injury that “cannot be solved overnight”.