Australia World Cup 2026: Defensive solidity could see Socceroos reach the knockouts again

Australia are one quarter of a competitive Group D at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the USA, Turkey and Paraguay completing the set.

Below are my Australia World Cup 2026 predictions, including an assessment of their squad and chances of going far in the competition.

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Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan (Levante), Paul Izzo (Randers), Patrick Beach (Melbourne City)

Defenders: Aziz Behich (Melbourne City), Jordan Bos (Feynoord), Cameron Burgess (Swansea City), Alessandro Circati (Parma), Milos Degenek (APOEL), Jason Geria (Albirex Niigata), Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids), Jacob Italiano (Grazer), Harry Souttar (Leicester City), Kai Trewin (New York City)

Midfielders: Cammy Devlin (Heart of Midlothian), Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles Almelo), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Connor Metcalfe (St Pauli), Paul Okon-Engstler (Sydney), Aiden O'Neill (New York City).

Forwards: Nestory Irankunda (Watford), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City), Awer Mabil (Castellon), Mohamed Toure (Norwich City), Nishan Velupilly (Melbourne City), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo), Tete Yengi (Livingston).

The surprise omission from Tony Popovic's squad was Hibernian forward Martin Boyle, who has scored 10 times in 41 caps.

Cristian Volpato, who appeared to have previously snubbed Australia in hope of an Italy call-up, has taken the place of Boyle having recently pledged his allegiance to the Socceroos.

Tete Yengi, who spent the second half of the season on loan at Japanese side Machida Zelvia from Livingston, is probably the most eyebrow-raising name in Popovic's squad, having struggled in Scotland and only netting once in 11 J1 League appearances. However, the uncapped 25-year-old impressed in the AFC Champions League, helping side side to a 1-0 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final.

World Cup Odds

Popovic won five and drew three of his six qualifiers in charge after taking over from Graham Arnold, helping Australia to finish second in Group C of the Asian section and qualify for a sixth consecutive finals.

The Socceroos are built on a solid base and are likely to line up with three centre-backs and two wing-backs, as well as three midfielders, relying on their two forwards to utilise their pace and streak clear of defences.

Group D Fixtures:

13 June 9pm local (14 June 5am BST) - vs Turkey (Vancouver)

19 June 12pm local (8pm BST) - vs USA (Seattle)

25 June 7pm local (26 June 3am BST) - vs Paraguay (San Francisco Bay Area)

Player to watch: Mohamed Toure

Norwich City striker Mohamed Toure scored nine goals in 11 EFL Championship appearances after joining the Canaries in the January transfer window, so he will arrive to this summer's World Cup in a confident mood.

There isn't a great deal of flair or individual brilliance in this Australia squad, with more of a focus on containing the opposition, so it will be up to the likes of Toure and Nestory Irankunda to provide moments of magic when they get the chance at the other end.

Football Odds

Prediction: Round of 32

Australia are more than capable of finishing anywhere between first and third in Group D, and with third place more likely than not to see them progress to the knockouts, I'm backing the Socceroos to at least reach the round of 32, and from there, it all depends on who they face.

A last-16 run is possible, but if I have to pick a stage of elimination, I'll go for the round of 32.

In 2022, under Arnold, Australia finished second in Group H, behind France but ahead of Tunisia and Denmark before being edged out 2-1 by Argentina in the first stage of the knockout phase.