With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the books, it's time to focus on the present: an AFC Asian Cup that will kick off in just under four months in Saudi Arabia, where the Socceroos will be looking to improve on back-to-back quarterfinal exits and, without hyperbole, as one of the favourites.
The road there will start in Queensland this month, where Australia's men play in what are trending towards two sell-out fixtures against Brazil. A further two friendlies, flagged by coach Tony Popovic as likely taking place in the Middle East, will then be staged in November.
It's not a long build-up. 360 minutes of football that the Socceroos will get between their elimination from the World Cup at the hands of Egypt and their opening game of the Asian Cup against an Iraq side led by former national team boss Graham Arnold. Thus, while Popovic has pledged that young players will get further opportunities in his side, any further rejuvenation of the squad will need to be balanced with ensuring the side is ready to compete.
Invariably, there will be some changes from the World Cup. Injuries, which have already bitten at the start of the new season, will almost certainly ensure that. The process of generational change will continue. Other players will fall out of form, while others will emerge in a manner impossible to overlook. But much of the youthful presence may come in the form of players that were already part of that 26-man squad in North America -- already blooded in major tournament football and on the upswing.
So, as a showdown with the Seleção looms, what could the current Socceroos stocks look like? As ever, unless otherwise stated, ESPN's Socceroo Depth Chart is not an attempt to rank players but, instead, to project what their coach may be thinking in the approaching games. In addition, only players who most recently represented Australia or who have declared for the Socceroos are considered, meaning that, while eligible, players such as Gianluca Okon-Engstler (Italy) and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (England) don't appear.
Goalkeeper
Starter: Patrick Beach
Reserves: Mathew Ryan, Paul Izzo
In the mix: Joe Gauci
Injured: Harrison Devenish-Meares
Short of late-emerging circumstances, or the coaching staff not feeling the need to bring one of the trio all the way to Australia, no real challenger for the established triumvirate of Beach, Ryan, and Izzo has emerged in the opening weeks of the new campaign.
Coming off a strong World Cup, a move to Ligue 1 in which he's assumed a starting role at Troyes, and as the obvious goalkeeper of the future, Beach would also shape as the likely starter heading into the Asian Cup. It makes sense. Nonetheless, that shouldn't overshadow Ryan's fine form at Levante, nor Izzo seemingly reclaiming the starting role at Randers FC after a failed offseason move. It's a strong goalkeeping union.
Left back
Starter: Aziz Behich
Reserve: Kye Rowles
Other Contenders: Daniel Bennie, Callum Elder
Injured: Jordan Bos, John Koutroumbis
With Bos in a race against time to be fit for the Asian Cup after post-World Cup surgery, Rowles only just returning from a hamstring complaint, and Behich still yet to start a new A-League Men campaign at Melbourne City, the left-back position is a bit of a toss-up. "We've got Aziz Beach that played against Egypt, [played a] fantastic game," Popovic said. "He's yet to play a competitive game, but he's good enough to start in an elimination game. That's what we're faced with."
So what does Popovic do? Given he's said when asked that he'll still consider A-League players despite the season being yet to commence, Behich could still come into camp. Bennie, meanwhile, was part of the Socceroos' pre-World Cup training camp in Sarasota, has been starting on the wing for Dundee United in Scotland, and would fit the profile of a youngster the coach is wanting to get a look at. Rowles was unlucky to miss the World Cup and brings versatility, while Elder has been starting, albeit not week-in, week-out, for newly promoted Lincoln City in the Championship.
Center backs
Starters: Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati, Lucas Herrington
Reserves: Miloš Degenek, Dan Hall, Gianni Stensness
Other Contenders: Hayden Matthews, Jason Geria, Jake Girdwood-Reich
Injured: Kai Trewin, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng
From an on-field perspective, there's little reason to break up the defensive trio that started the Socceroos' last two games at the World Cup. Herrington and Circati have both secured big-time moves following that tournament and should only go from strength to strength in the years to come. Souttar couldn't secure a transfer away from Leicester City, and League One isn't exactly an ideal home for a Socceroos captain, but he's at least getting regular minutes now to supplement his proven international record.
Nonetheless, with a few players on the shelf with injury, there is perhaps scope for fresh faces to be part of the squad. Stensness was part of the pre-World Cup training camp and has made his UEFA Champions League debut with Viking FK, while Hall is getting regular minutes with (an admittedly struggling) JEF United Chiba in the J1 League. Girdwood-Reich is another option after quickly settling in at Motherwell, and though League One's Bradford City isn't the highest level (and he doesn't have the same track record as Souttar to mitigate it), Matthews has been called up by Popovic in the past. Geria is yet to feature in the J2 this season, but Degenek has been starting in Cyprus.
Right back
Starter: Jacob Italiano
Reserve: Joshua Rawlins
Other Contenders: Ryan Strain, James Overy, Kealey Adamson, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Fran Karačić
Injured: Lewis Miller, Kai Trewin
Italiano took a while to get back on the pitch after a groin injury ended his World Cup, but he returned for Grazer AK at the end of August and should be available if called upon. With hindsight suggesting that a specialist right-back would have been handy to have at that tournament, Rawlins' and Strain's regular starts in Scotland would press their case to fill that role against Brazil, with the former a youngster Popovic may want to observe.
Adamson, though, fits that profile too, has been featured off the bench by Queens Park Rangers in the early weeks of the Championship, and can play on the right and left. Overy has been in camp once, but his appearance off the bench in Sydney FC's loss to Melbourne Victory in the Australia Cup represents his only competitive senior football of his career.
Central midfielders
Starters: Paul Okon Jr., Aiden O'Neill
Reserves: Jackson Irvine, Alex Robertson, Patrick Yazbek
Other Contenders: Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustić
Backing up his World Cup by starting for FC Cologne in their opening games of the Bundesliga, Okon-Engstler looks set to lock down one of the Socceroos' midfield positions for a good while, with the coming months an opportunity to build continuity for the Asian Cup. After post-tournament ankle surgery, O'Neill recently returned to the pitch for New York City FC, and after being a constant presence in Popovic's XI's at the World Cup, it's reasonable to anticipate he'd be called upon, too.
Behind them, Irvine has quickly become a regular starter for Cerezo Osaka in the J1 League and still should have plenty to give if called upon against Brazil or heading into the Asian Cup. Elsewhere, Robertson has kept his starting role for Cardiff City after their promotion to the Championship and would ostensibly merit another opportunity, while Yazbek is back playing for Nashville SC after injury dashed what was looking like a strong push for the World Cup. In Scotland, Devlin looks to have settled in relatively well at Rangers, too.
Wingers
Starter: Nestory Irankunda, Riley McGree
Reserves: Marcus Younis, Martin Boyle, Connor Metcalfe, Daniel Arzani
Other Contenders: Nishan Velupillay, Eli Adams, Marco Tilio, Mathew Leckie
Injured: Cristian Volpato
Volpato limping off in Sassuolo's draw with Bologna over the weekend has seemingly spared Football Australia and Popovic from having to immediately confront his eligibility for selection after NSW Police said a secondary test for cocaine, arising from a July traffic stop after being pulled over (twice) for speeding, had returned a positive result. After being fined, Volpato will face no further action by legal authorities, but, pending appeals, may have to answer to the federation's disciplinary and ethics committee. In addition, Popovic's own rhetoric on demanding elite standards on- and off-field from players aspiring to the privilege of wearing the green-and-gold would suggest he'd need to take his own stand on the matter, too.
Of the players that should be available, McGree's has returned to action at Middlesbrough and will provide a significant boost to the Socceroos' hopes at the Asian Cup. Opposite him, a couple of starts and extended runs against Brazil could be just what Irankunda needs mentally and physically as he comes off the bench at Sporting CP. From a management perspective, Metcalfe could perhaps use some extended minutes, too, after starting the 2. Bundesliga season coming off the bench at St. Pauli.
With just two windows between now and the Asian Cup, time is running out to get a look at Younis before that tournament, and his starting role in Brøndby IF's new season should boost his hopes. Boyle isn't the next generation by any stretch, but he is playing regularly for Hibernian and he'll have something to prove after missing out on the World Cup. Adams is also seeing the field early on in his move to Gamba Osaka and could also generate consideration, as could Tilio and Arzani as they finally begin to string together some form in Austria and Hungary, respectively.
Striker
Starter: Mohamed Touré
Reserve: Tete Yengi
Other Contenders: Zac Sapsford, Lachlan Rose
No Aussie striker's been scoring at the rate of Touré since he moved to Norwich City, with Philippe Clement seemingly having found a way to maximise his ability to get in behind and finish inside the penalty area. Unfortunately for Aussie fans, this form didn't translate over to his first World Cup appearance, meaning that getting the 22-year-old firing as he does at club level looms as one of Popovic's biggest challenges, but also opportunities, heading into the Asian Cup.
Yengi, for his part, has also been amongst the goalscorers as Machida Zelvia surged to an early lead in the J1 League and should keep his place.
Coach
Starter: Tony Popovic
Other Contenders: John Aloisi, Mark Milligan, Kevin Muscat, Steve Corica, Nick Montgomery, Mile Jedinak
We now know it was Popovic's call for his contract to conclude following the Asian Cup, turning down the offer of an extension through 2030 in favour of a shorter pact. And this revelation adds a new dimension to the analysis of his future.
To start, we can extrapolate that, short of significant underperformance, any separation following the Asian Cup will likely be driven by the coach. Across multiple administrations, Football Australia has shown little appetite for confrontation with national team bosses, and members of its current brass have consistently spoken in glowing terms about the Socceroos mentor. That they were willing to commit long-term without a frame of reference from a major tournament further suggests that, institutionally, there's little appetite for separation heading towards 2030.
Should Popovic make the call to depart post-Asian Cup, however, the timing wouldn't be devastating for the Socceroos. Indeed, one wonders if that was part of his considerations when he opted for a short-term deal; a contingency to ensure that his work ushering in generational renewal doesn't come crashing down and was replaced by a pursuit of short-term results.
If a new coach were to land at that point, they'd have around six months of preparation before World Cup qualifiers began, considerably more time than the couple of weeks Popovic had. Said games would also be the opening stage of Asian qualifiers, ostensibly auguring much more manageable fixtures than the Japan trip that Popovic dealt with in his second game in charge. Notably, the Chinese Super League campaigns of both Aloisi and Muscat would have concluded by that point, too, with the former looking likely to have delivered a title to Chengdu Rongcheng and the latter's contract with Shanghai Port, as far as we know, concluded.
ESPN's projected Socceroos squad to face Brazil
Goalkeepers: Patrick Beach, Mathew Ryan, Paul Izzo
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati, Lucas Herrington, Gianni Stensness, Dan Hall, Milos Degenek, Jacob Italiano, Joshua Rawlins
Midfielders: Paul Okon-Engstler, Aiden O'Neill, Jackson Irvine, Alex Robertson, Patrick Yazbek
Forwards: Nestory Irankunda, Riley McGree, Mohamed Toure, Tete Yengi, Martin Boyle, Connor Metcalfe, Marcus Younis, Daniel Arzani
Coach: Tony Popovic