Breakout sensation Adrian Segecic has earned a maiden call-up while Nestory Irankunda’s hot start to life at Watford has delivered a recall for the Socceroos’ friendlies against New Zealand.
Portsmouth gun Segecic, 21, is one of four players called up for the first time, named in Tony Popovic’s experimental squad to play for the Soccer Ashes in Canberra next Friday and Auckland three days later.
Segecic’s call-up comes off scoring two goals in three Championship games for Portsmouth, along with notching an assist in the League Cup.
Popovic was keen to balance “building continuity” with senior players while also seeing which younger players could hit the level.
“We want to have a lot of depth going into the World Cup and we want to have selection headaches,” he said.
Irankunda, who moved from Bayern Munich to English Championship club Watford over the off-season, has already notched an assist and a wonderful free kick goal.
That has earned the 19-year-old his first call-up under Popovic since last October, having been overlooked since Australia’s clash with Japan.
Nestory Irankunda has impressed since making a move to Championship side Watford. Photograph: Paul Harding/Getty Images
Popovic said he was excited to see what a “maturing” Irankunda can now offer on the international stage.
“I had Nestory in camp with us in my first window in October. We haven’t had him since, so it’ll be nice to see him,” Popovic said.
“And I think since that time, we’ve seen him probably mature as a player.
“He’s had a year in Europe, which is a great experience for a young player at Bayern Munich, which obviously shows the talent that he has.
“He got some game time at Grasshopper in Switzerland, and now we’re seeing him progress further at Watford.
“So we know he certainly has the talent, and he’s young … He’s still maturing and getting better, and we hope to see him in two, three, four World Cups to come.”
With direct World Cup qualification already secured, Popovic has licence to experiment and test new players in the first of four windows ahead of selecting his squad for the 2026 tournament.
Former A-League Men stars Noah Botic (Austria Vienna), Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen) and Segecic (Portsmouth), plus surprise call-up Anthony Kalik (Hajduk Split) will all head into a senior camp for the first time.
There are no players from the out-of-season A-League Men competition, including Aziz Behich, while several other experienced players have been left out or overlooked.
skip past newsletter promotion
Sign up to Australia Sport
Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk
Privacy Notice:Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
Jackson Irvine is still on the comeback trail from his foot injury, while Mat Ryan has been left out after sealing his recent club move to Levante.
“He’s very fit, looks after himself, but he hasn’t had that team training or pre-season games,” Popovic said of Ryan.
“So we’re very happy that he’s found a club.
“I’m sure he’ll get back to training and playing very soon, and we look forward to getting back in camp, hopefully in the next window.”
Luckless playmaker Riley McGree is seemingly still sidelined while Japan-based Mitch Duke and Jason Geria have been overlooked.
Defender Jordan Bos, who recently moved to Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord, returns from injury.
Ajdin Hrustic has been called up after signing with Heracles Almelo and Sammy Silvera’s form as a wingback at Middlesborough has been rewarded.
Nectar Triantis, who recently registered a Fifa switch to Greece, has not been included, nor has veteran midfielder Massimo Luongo
Socceroos squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Gauci, Tom Glover, Paul Izzo; defenders: Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Fran Karacic, Hayden Matthews, Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Samuel Silvera; midfielders: Max Balard, Ajdin Hrustic, Anthony Kalik, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O’Neill; Ryan Teague, Patrick Yazbek; attackers: Noah Botic, Martin Boyle, Nestory Irankunda, Nicolas Milanovic, Adrian Segecic, Mohamed Toure.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.