As it stands, Tony Popovic and his staff have just two international windows -- a maximum of four games -- until they will be required to name the Socceroos squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It's a funny situation; there's still plenty of football to be played between now and then -- Popovic was in the stands for Western Sydney Wanderers' draw with Melbourne City in the opening round of the A-League Men last weekend, and watched City's win over Buriram United in the Asian Champions League Elite on Tuesday -- but not a lot of it will be done in green-and-gold.
Thus, the importance of the most recent window, which saw Australia snatch a 1-0 win against Canada in Montreal before falling 2-1 to the United States in Denver -- the first time they'd lost in the Popovic era -- should be obvious. Not only was it an opportunity for the coaching staff to examine their players and ideas against two strong opponents -- the United States represents the highest-ranked opponent across Popovic's 12 games in charge -- but it was also an opportunity to do so while experiencing the same conditions and travel requirements they will face at next year's tournament.
"I think we showed tonight we can definitely be competitive at the World Cup," Popovic said after the United States game. "We competed against a very good team very well throughout the game."
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While it's impossible to know exactly how it was absorbed internally, you'd think some of the takeaways were pretty simple. Jordan Bos, for instance, is a budding superstar; his ability to break lines and progress the ball reinforced every time he takes the field, as well as when he doesn't. Jacob Italiano's back-to-back starts, bucking the trend of players sitting in their first camp, bode well. Kye Rowles is a World Cup-proven central defender, but didn't really show enough against Canada to suggest he's an option as a left-wing back beyond rearguard actions. The importance of having veterans like Miloš Degenek and Cameron Burgess next to him is clear, but Alessandro Circati is a foundational defensive piece.
In goal, Paul Izzo has probably supplanted Joe Gauci as back-up and will push Mathew Ryan for the starting role. Aiden O'Neill and Max Balard have started in the Jackson Irvine-less midfield for three straight games, but there's still plenty there to sort out, especially when it comes to progressing possession up the pitch. Up top, Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Toure look like they're ready to establish themselves as members of the national team, and clearly have the belief to embrace that challenge. Connor Metcalfe is becoming an important cog in attack, with Irankunda remarking after the United States fixture, "I don't feel like Connor gets the praise that he deserves."
Collectively, the Socceroos were resolute against Canada but didn't offer all that much going forward, especially before Bos and Lewis Miller came off the bench and started bombing up the flanks. Against the United States, they pressed higher and created more, but this was paired with uncharacteristic defensive lapses and challenges, especially for the younger players, with the mile-high altitude. Finding a balance between these two qualities, maintaining the attacking impetus while clamping down defensively, as well as finding the right combinations to unlock greater midfield involvement and adaptability, will invariably be the goal heading into the November window, even if we still don't know who the Socceroos' opponents will be.
But with the final squad just two windows away from being named, October also brought further clarity to the search for balance that comes with places on the roster. Indeed, perhaps the best way to describe it is that Popovic and his staff are attempting to build a jigsaw: bringing together a distinct series of pieces that produce one whole. It's not just about finding the best 23 pieces and throwing them in a box but finding the pieces that can actually fit together and, compounding this challenge, produce multiple images, depending on the requirements of that game and opponent.
"We have a playing style. So players are selected based on that," assistant coach Paul Okon told ESPN. "A lot of people sometimes question, 'Why is that player playing over that player?'
"Well, there can be a thousand reasons. Physically, technically, mentally. We try to look at all those small details.
"You try and bring all the pieces together. And part of that is obviously monitoring the players really closely and having a look in-depth at how they are performing at their clubs, and then mirroring that to what we're asking for here with the Socceroos.
"Each player has their own unique style of playing, but it's about [them] enhancing our team and based on which player can do that better than someone else."
This is why predicting just how the Socceroos will lineup come their opening game of next year's World Cup is almost impossible, definitely until the draw takes place in early December. Because if one were to ask Popovic what his strongest XI is right now, the coach would likely respond that it depends on what they need to do.
"[Popovic] doesn't expect you to do anything outside the box of what you're capable of at all," Mitchell Duke told ESPN. "You're here for a reason, and he makes you feel that confidence."
Bos and Aziz Behich, for instance, might both be left backs, but their differing profiles and how they relate to their teammates around them govern how they will be deployed. Going to be on the back foot and defending deep? Maybe that's a role for Behich or even Rowles. Need to open up the game and go forward? Call on Bos.
This means that players who nominally play the position may not even be in competition with each other and instead are vying to fill the varying roles and archetypes that Popovic has earmarked as necessary to compete in North America next year. Are strikers Duke and Nicholas D'Agostino, who returned after a lengthy Socceroos hiatus to play against the USMNT, competing with Touré? Or are they looking to fill a selfless, hard-running, high-pressing battering-ram role?
"The game-style we play, we play very connected, so we can have many different No. 9s -- depending on the opponent we're playing and depending on what players underneath are supporting," assistant coach Hayden Foxe told ESPN. "You could have maybe some running No. 10s going in behind, or wing backs; then you could build up with the No. 9. If you have a player who likes to play between the lines, then you can have a running No. 9.
"We're looking at a few different styles of No. 9s: ones that can come on and make an impact. Ones that can score goals. And players who are in form."
At present, Okon says the staff are actively monitoring a list of around 60 players eight months out from the World Cup, with a qualifier that there's scope for others to force themselves into that mix. FIFA is yet to confirm how many spaces this collection is competing for, with one recent report floating World Cup squads could grow to 30.
Regardless of the final number, some players pick themselves. But others are jostling. And the challenge for them, especially those yet to be in a camp environment, is proving that they're not just good enough individually but can also be trusted to perform the role envisioned for them when the lights are at their brightest in 2026.
"Sometimes, it doesn't mean that a certain player playing a certain club will automatically get into the national setup," said Okon. "It doesn't work that way, because you'll look at their attributes and the profile of the players and the style we're trying to play -- who fits into our philosophy? Our game style?"
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