Tony Popovic is about to do something no Australian has done before: he will go to a World Cup as both a player and a coach for the national team. As the Socceroos line up for a 2pm match against Turkey today, Popovic’s name sits at the center of a squad that is carrying history as well as pressure.
That is why the focus falls so sharply on Mat Ryan and Mathew Leckie. Ryan, born in Plumpton in western Sydney, is headed for a fourth World Cup after a career that began with him playing every game of Australia’s victorious 2015 Asian Cup. Leckie will also make his fourth World Cup appearance, and if he and Ryan both play, he will match the tournament appearance mark held by Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan. For Australia, the checklist is no longer about whether the squad has enough experience. It is about how much of it can still be trusted when the tournament starts.
Popovic has earned that trust in his own way. He was part of Australia’s Golden Generation that qualified for the 2006 tournament, later became the inaugural coach of the Western Sydney Wanderers and took them to an AFC Champions League title, then rescued the Socceroos’ qualifying campaign in 2024 with an undefeated run. His methods have been as pointed as his results. He banned pasta sauce and lollies from camp, and his contract has already been extended until next year’s Asian Cup.
But the story is not as clean as the milestones suggest. Ryan is the captain now, yet he was dropped when Popovic took charge in October 2024 because he was not getting regular game time at Roma. He answered by moving to Levante UD and starring this season, which put him back in the frame and back in the shirt. That is the central test inside this Socceroos lineup: Popovic has shown he will make hard calls, even on senior players, but he has also shown he will reverse course when form changes.
Leckie’s path adds another layer. He managed just six games for Melbourne City last season after hip surgery, then returned to form and reminded Australia what he can still do with the ball at his feet. Jordy Bos is also part of the conversation as one of the team’s top players entering the tournament, having moved from Melbourne City to Feyenoord while his representatives have been in England laying groundwork with Premier League clubs. The squad that meets Turkey today is not a simple reunion of names. It is a final audit of who Popovic trusts, who has earned a second look, and who will carry Australia into the World Cup with him.
