Socceroos Train-On Squad 2026 | 18 Players Named for Sarasota World Cup Camp

The CommBank Socceroos’ 2026 FIFA World Cup train-on squad is taking shape. Tony Popovic has now named 18 players to the extended pre-tournament assessment group ahead of the May camp in Sarasota, Florida, with the final 26-man squad due to be submitted to FIFA by 1 June 2026. Below: the full train-on list to date, who was a lock and who’s a bolter, and how it stacks up against our predicted Socceroos World Cup squad from April.

Confirmed Train-On Squad (18 players)

The two announcement waves brought the train-on group to 18 players, with more additions expected before the 1 June deadline. The group below is being assessed in Sarasota before the Socceroos relocate to Los Angeles on 28 May for the friendly v Mexico at the Rose Bowl on 30 May.

Goalkeepers (2)

Player	Club	Wave	Notes
Patrick Beach	Melbourne City	2	A-League goalkeeper getting a look-in
Joe Gauci	Port Vale (loan, Aston Villa)	2	In our predicted squad as 3rd-GK candidate ✅

Note: Established No. 1 Mat Ryan (AS Roma) and second-choice contenders are not part of this train-on group, with their selection considered automatic for the final 26-man squad.

Defenders (4)

Player	Club	Wave	Notes
Harry Souttar	Leicester City	1	Headline inclusion — our predicted squad raised availability concerns
Hayden Matthews	Portsmouth	1	Bolter — wasn’t in our predicted XI
Cameron Burgess	Swansea City	2	In our predicted squad ✅
Aziz Behich	Melbourne City	2	In our predicted squad ✅ (we had him at Dundee United — has since moved home)

Midfielders (3)

Player	Club	Wave	Notes
Anthony Caceres	Macarthur FC	1	A-League veteran — bolter not in our predicted XI
Alex Robertson	Cardiff City	2	Wasn’t in our predicted XI
Ajdin Hrustic	Heracles Almelo (NED)	2	Wasn’t in our predicted XI — return after injury concerns

Note: Captain Jackson Irvine (St Pauli) plus established midfielders Aiden O’Neill, Connor Metcalfe, Riley McGree and Cammy Devlin are not in this train-on group — their selection for the final 26 is considered automatic.

Forwards / Attackers (9)

Player	Club	Wave	Notes
Mitch Duke	Macarthur FC	1	In our predicted squad ✅ (we had him at Machida Zelvia — has since returned to A-League)
Mathew Leckie	Melbourne City	1	Veteran call-up — wasn’t in our predicted XI
Brandon Borrello	Western Sydney Wanderers	1	A-League — bolter
Nick D’Agostino	Brisbane Roar	1	A-League — bolter
Nishan Velupillay	Melbourne Victory	1	In our predicted squad ✅
Nestory Irankunda	Watford	2	In our predicted squad ✅ (we had him at Bayern Munich — currently on loan at Watford)
Mohamed Toure	Norwich City	2	Bolter — younger brother of Al-Hassan Toure
Daniel Bennie	QPR	2	Maiden CommBank Socceroos call-up
Raphael Borges Rodrigues	Wigan / Coventry City	2	Maiden CommBank Socceroos call-up — Aussie youth international

The Big Story: Harry Souttar Is Back

The headline inclusion is Harry Souttar (Leicester City), whose Premier League injuries had cast significant doubt over his World Cup availability when we wrote our predicted squad in April. We dedicated a whole section to the “Centre-Back Without Souttar” selection puzzle — and Popovic has now answered that question directly by calling Souttar in for the Sarasota assessment camp. His inclusion is the single biggest tactical shift since our predicted XI: Australia’s defensive structure looks fundamentally different with Souttar at the back.

Souttar at 6’7” gives the Socceroos a different proposition in the air, a much sharper set-piece threat from defence, and an established Premier League CB pairing pedigree alongside Alessandro Circati (Parma). For an Australian defensive unit facing the USA and Türkiye attacking quality in Group D, this is exactly the bolster the team needs.

Bolters and Maiden Call-Ups

Two players have received their first ever CommBank Socceroos call-ups:

• Daniel Bennie (QPR) — the Championship-based midfielder gets his shot at the senior set-up
• Raphael Borges Rodrigues (Wigan / Coventry City) — Australian youth international who has converted his age-group form into a senior look-in

Beyond the maidens, the wave-1 group leaned heavily on A-League veterans — Caceres, Borrello, D’Agostino, Velupillay, Leckie and the returning Mitch Duke — which signals Popovic is genuinely assessing the domestic-based player pool rather than just confirming the Europe-based starting XI. The fact that Mat Leckie is still in the conversation at 35 says something about the lack of established attacking depth behind the obvious wide forwards.

How Our Predicted Squad Looks Now

Of the 26 names we put forward in our predicted squad, 6 are confirmed in this train-on group so far: Cameron Burgess, Aziz Behich, Joe Gauci, Mitchell Duke, Nestory Irankunda, Nishan Velupillay. That count will rise once Popovic adds the established starters (Ryan, Souttar — already in — Circati, Bos, Irvine, O’Neill, McGree, Boyle and others) to the final 26-man squad in the coming weeks.

Two of our predicted call-ups had moved clubs since April that we now need to flag:

• Aziz Behich — we had him at Dundee United; he’s now back at Melbourne City
• Mitch Duke — we had him at Machida Zelvia (Japan); he’s back in the A-League at Macarthur FC
• Nestory Irankunda — we had him at Bayern Munich; he’s on loan at Watford

Players from our predicted XI not in the train-on squad include captain Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Aiden O’Neill (Standard Liège), Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Mat Ryan (AS Roma), Alessandro Circati (Parma) and Jordan Bos (Stade Brestois) — these are all considered automatic for the final 26 and don’t need to be in the assessment camp.

The selection puzzles that we flagged in our predicted-squad piece — third goalkeeper, midfield balance, the final attacking spots — are now being actively run on the training pitch in Sarasota.

Key Dates for the Final 26-Man Squad

Date	Event
May 2026 (ongoing)	Sarasota, Florida — train-on squad camp; more players expected to be added
Wed 28 May 2026	Squad relocates from Sarasota to Los Angeles
Sat 30 May 2026	Friendly v Mexico at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena (final XI audition)
Mon 1 June 2026	Final 26-man squad due to FIFA
Sat 6 June 2026	Final friendly v Switzerland (warm-up before World Cup)
June 2026 (TBC)	Move to base camp at Oakland Roots SC (Bay Farm Island, Alameda) for tournament
Sat 13 June 2026	🇦🇺 Australia v 🇹🇷 Türkiye — Vancouver (Group D Matchday 1)
Fri 19 June 2026	🇦🇺 Australia v 🇺🇸 USA — Seattle (Group D Matchday 2)
Thu 25 June 2026	🇦🇺 Australia v 🇵🇾 Paraguay — Santa Clara, USA (Group D Matchday 3)

Selection Battles Still Open

With more players expected to be added to the train-on group in the coming weeks (most likely the Europe-based starters), the selection puzzles that matter most for the final 26-man squad:

• Centre-back depth alongside Souttar and Circati — Burgess and Hayden Matthews are the wave-1 + wave-2 candidates; Rowles and Italiano (in our predicted squad) still to be added or confirmed
• Right wing-back / right back — the position we called a “crisis” in our predicted-squad piece is still unresolved; Alex Robertson (Cardiff) has been added but doesn’t solve the natural-RB problem
• Third goalkeeper behind Ryan — Gauci is in, Beach is the A-League option, Paul Izzo (Randers) hasn’t been called up yet
• Final attacking spots — Borrello, D’Agostino, Leckie, Mohamed Toure, Borges Rodrigues all competing alongside our predicted picks (Mabil, Boyle, Goodwin, Yengi, Juric) — likely 6 forward spots in the final 26
• Midfield depth — Caceres and Hrustic are the bolters; Connor Metcalfe, Ryan Teague, Keanu Baccus from our predicted list still need to be confirmed

What This Means for Group D Betting

For Australian punters, the Souttar inclusion is the most important pre-tournament news. The Socceroos’ defensive ceiling against the USA, Paraguay and Türkiye is meaningfully higher with Souttar at the back — see our Socceroos Group D Deep Dive for our match-by-match betting tips and path-mapping for the group stage. Pre-tournament prices:

• Australia to qualify from Group D: $4.50–$5.50
• Australia to win Group D: $9.00–$13.00
• Australia to finish bottom: $2.30–$2.60
• Australia v Türkiye (MD1) — best bet: Türkiye to win at the ≈$2.30 mark, BTTS Yes at ≈$1.75

Looking for the best bookmakers to bet on the Socceroos?

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FAQ

How many players are in the Socceroos train-on squad?

18 players have been named to date — 8 in the first announcement and 10 in the second. More players are expected to be added in the coming weeks ahead of the final 26-man squad deadline on 1 June 2026.

Where is the train-on camp?

Sarasota, Florida. The squad relocates to Los Angeles on 28 May for the Mexico friendly on 30 May at the Rose Bowl, then moves to Oakland (Bay Farm Island) as base camp for the tournament.

When is the final 26-man Socceroos squad announced?

The official 26-man squad must be submitted to FIFA by Monday 1 June 2026.

Is Harry Souttar in the train-on squad?

Yes — Souttar (Leicester City) was in wave 1 of the train-on group, the single biggest pre-tournament news for the Socceroos’ defensive structure.

Who got maiden Socceroos call-ups in the train-on squad?

Daniel Bennie (QPR) and Raphael Borges Rodrigues (Wigan/Coventry City).

More Socceroos & World Cup 2026 Content

• Socceroos Predicted World Cup Squad 2026 — our April predicted 26-man squad and starting XI
• Socceroos Group D Deep Dive — match-by-match betting tips, realistic path mapping, outright markets
• World Cup 2026 Tournament Preview & Outright Tips
• World Cup 2026 Hub
• Socceroos & International Soccer Hub