Tony Popovic names Subway Socceroos squad to face Japan and Saudi Arabia

Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach, Tony Popovic has named an extended 26-player squad ahead of Australia’s AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 fixtures against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The June FIFA Men’s International Window will see the Subway Socceroos play their final Round Three qualification fixtures, taking on Japan at Perth Stadium, Perth on Thursday, 5 June (kick-off 7.00pm local / 9.00pm AEST) and Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah on Tuesday, 10 June (9.15pm local / 4.15am AEST – Wednesday, 11 June).

Australia (13 points) currently sit second in Group C of Round Three qualifying, ahead of Saudi Arabia (10 points), having most recently secured victories over Indonesia (5-1) and China PR (2-0) in matches held in March 2025.

The qualifier on home soil against the Samurai Blue will be the Subway Socceroos’ first ever appearance at Perth Stadium, a state-of-the-art venue that has hosted a variety of international and high-profile club fixtures.

A large portion of Popovic’s squad arrive in Perth direct from a training camp in the United Arab Emirates – which featured players free from their respective club duties – providing a runway of preparation that is rarely available in international windows.

Alessandro Circati (Parma Calcio 1913) has been named following his recovery from an ACL injury suffered in September 2024, he is joined by fellow West Australians, Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town FC) and Adam Taggart (Perth Glory FC).

Riley McGree (Middlesbrough FC) and Connor Metcalfe (FC St Pauli) have also been selected, making their long-awaited returns from injury.

Aziz Behich (Melbourne City FC) will arrive in Perth fresh from lifting the Isuzu UTE A-League Men Championship trophy, following his side’s 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory FC. While Kasey Bos (Melbourne Victory FC) earns his first Subway Socceroos call up and is one of six players that will arrive into camp direct from the Grand Final, including teammates Daniel Arzani and Ryan Teague.

Paul Okon-Engstler (S.L Benfica) – son of Socceroos great, Paul Okon – also earns his first call up to the senior national team, after impressing during his time in Abu Dhabi. Okon-Engstler was most recently an integral part of Australia’s successful AFC U20 Asian Cup China PR 2025™ campaign, putting in a series of stellar performances on the way to a history-making tournament victory.

Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach, Tony Popovic said he was looking forward to arriving in Perth following his intensive training camp.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position within the group to be in control of our destiny,” Popovic said.

“We are ready to embrace this challenge with great respect of our opponents, though full of belief and confidence to achieve our goal of automatic qualification.

“We’ve had the opportunity to work with a large group of these players in a training camp in Abu Dhabi, which has been extremely beneficial both on and off the pitch. I look forward to welcoming the remainder of the squad into camp in Perth for what will be a great build-up and fantastic occasion at Perth Stadium,” Popovic concluded.

Scheduled to be played from September 2024 to June 2025, the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 features three groups of six teams playing in a home-and-away, round-robin format, offering direct qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ for the top two finishers of each group.

To find out all the latest information on fixtures, results and Third Round Qualification updates please click here.

The Subway Socceroos FIFA World Cup 2026™ Qualifiers will be broadcast live thanks to Football Australia’s broadcast partner, Paramount Australia.

SUBWAY SOCCEROOS’ SQUAD l JUNE FIFA MEN’S INTERNATIONAL WINDOW

Name Current Club, Country ‘A’ Caps (Goals) Junior Club / Member Federation (Country) Daniel ARZANI Melbourne Victory FC, Australia 9 (1) Coogee United FC / Football NSW Aziz BEHICH Melbourne City FC, Australia 79 (2) Meadow Park SC / Football VIC Brandon BORRELLO Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia 15 (2) Modbury Jets SC / Football SA Kasey BOS Melbourne Victory FC, Australia 0 Point Cook SC / Football VIC Martin BOYLE Hibernian FC, Scotland 32 (10) Lewis United FC / Montrose FC (Scotland) Cameron BURGESS Ipswich Town FC, England 15 (0) ECU Joondalup / Football West Anthony CACERES Sydney FC, Australia 3 (0) Marconi Stallions / Football NSW Alessandro CIRCATI Parma Calcio 1913, Italy 4 (0) Perth RedStar FC / Football West Miloš DEGENEK FK TSC Bačka Topola, Serbia 47 (1) Blacktown City FC / Football NSW Mitchell DUKE FC Machida Zelvia, Japan 46 (12) Liverpool Rangers SC / Football NSW Joe GAUCI (GK) Aston Villa FC, England 7 (0) Cumberland United FC / Football SA Jason GERIA Albirex Niigata, Japan 7 (0) Weston Molonglo Football Club / Capital Football Paul IZZO (GK) Randers FC, Denmark 0 Campbelltown City SC / Football SA Riley McGREE Middlesbrough FC, England 29 (1) Gawler Eagles FC / Football South Australia Connor METCALFE FC St Pauli, Germany 24 (0) South Cardiff FC / Northern NSW Football Lewis MILLER Hibernian FC, Scotland 11 (1) Pittwater RSL FC / Football NSW Paul OKON-ENGSTLER S.L Benfica, Portugal 0 Marconi Stallions / Football NSW Aiden O’NEILL New York City, United States 19 (0) University of Queensland Football Club / Football QLD Kye ROWLES D.C. United, United States 25 (1) Palm Beach SC / Football QLD Mat RYAN (GK) RC Lens, France 98 (0) Blacktown City FC / Football NSW Mohamed TOURE Randers FC, Denmark 1 (0) Croydon FC / Football SA Adam TAGGART Perth Glory FC, Australia 22 (7) ECU Joondalup / Football West Ryan TEAGUE Melbourne Victory FC, Australia 1 (0) Maroubra United FC / Football NSW Marco TILIO Melbourne City FC, Australia 9 (0) APIA Leichhardt FC & Sydney Olympic FC / Football NSW Kai TREWIN Melbourne City FC, Australia 0 Gungahlin United FC / Capital Football Patrick YAZBEK Nashville SC, United States 2 (0) Austral Soccer Club / Football NSW

SUBWAY SOCCEROOS’ FIXTURES | JUNE FIFA MEN’S INTERNATIONAL WINDOW

Subway Socceroos v Japan

Thursday, 5 June 2025

Perth Stadium, Perth

Kick-off: 7.00pm local / 9.00pm AEST

Tickets: Available via Ticketmaster

Broadcast: 10, 10 Play and Paramount+

Saudi Arabia v Subway Socceroos

Tuesday 10 June 2025

King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah

Kick-off: 9.15pm local / 4.15am AEST

Broadcast: Paramount+

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