Their golden generation is a long way in the past now, but they’ve managed to qualify for yet another World Cup with a mix of players who play domestically and in Europe, and the blend that Arnold has found appears to be working.
After a long qualifying campaign that went down to a penalty shootout, the Socceroos will be playing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
While the team may have qualified, few players really stood out in a squad that stumbled through qualifying.
Coach Graham Arnold has made a point to give younger players opportunities in recent years and the side will be a mix of youth and experience in Qatar.
Unlike in previous World Cups, the Socceroos were able to name a 26-man squad for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Final 26-man Australia World Cup squad
Teenage sensation Garang Kuol has made the cut with the young attacker set to join Newcastle United in January.
Some other notable names in the squad include former Premier League goalkeeper Maty Ryan, Sunderland defender Bailey Wright and Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy.
Among the players missing, Mitch Langerak, Trent Sainsbury, Tom Rogic and Adam Taggart are the biggest surprises.
Marco Tilio has joined the team in Doha as a standby player should anyone in the current squad be ruled out with injury prior to the opening match.
Here’s Australia’s confirmed World Cup squad:
Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
GK | 1 | Maty Ryan | FC Copenhagen (DEN) | 30 | 75 |
GK | 12 | Andrew Redmayne | Sydney FC (AUS) | 33 | 3 |
GK | 18 | Danny Vukovic | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 37 | 4 |
DEF | 2 | Milos Degenek | Columbus Crew (USA) | 28 | 38 |
DEF | 16 | Aziz Behich | Dundee United (SCO) | 31 | 53 |
DEF | 24 | Joel King | OB (DAN) | 21 | 3 |
DEF | 3 | Nathaniel Atkinson | Hearts (SCO) | 23 | 5 |
DEF | 5 | Fran Karacic | Brescia (ITA) | 26 | 10 |
DEF | 19 | Harry Souttar | Stoke City (ENG) | 23 | 10 |
DEF | 4 | Kye Rowles | Hearts (SCO) | 24 | 3 |
DEF | 8 | Bailey Wright | Sunderland (ENG) | 30 | 27 |
DEF | 20 | Thomas Deng | Albirex Niigata (JAP) | 25 | 2 |
MID | 13 | Aaron Mooy | Celtic (SCO) | 32 | 53 |
MID | 22 | Jackson Irvine | St Pauli (GER) | 29 | 49 |
MID | 10 | Ajdin Hrustic | Hellas Verona (ITA) | 26 | 20 |
MID | 26 | Keanu Baccus | St Mirren (SCO | 29 | 53 |
MID | 17 | Cameron Devlin | Hearts (SCO) | 24 | 1 |
MID | 14 | Riley McGree | Middlesbrough (ENG) | 23 | 10 |
FWD | 11 | Awer Mabil | Cadiz (SPA) | 27 | 29 |
FWD | 7 | Mathew Leckie | Melbourne City (AUS) | 31 | 72 |
FWD | 6 | Martin Boyle | Hibernian (SCO) | 29 | 19 |
FWD | 9 | Jamie MacLaren | Melbourne City (AUS) | 29 | 26 |
FWD | 25 | Jason Cummings | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 27 | 1 |
FWD | 15 | Mitchell Duke | Fagiano Okayama (JAP) | 31 | 20 |
FWD | 21 | Garang Kuol | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 18 | 1 |
FWD | 23 | Craig Goodwin | Adelaide United (AUS) | 30 | 10 |
Socceroos World Cup injury concerns
- Martin Boyle (meniscus)
- Ajdin Hrustic (ankle)
Hibernian attacker Martin Boyle was forced from the field on October 30 but resulting scans confirmed his injury wasn’t as bad as first feared and he should be fit in time for Qatar.
Midfield star Ajdin Hrustic is currently battling an ankle injury and has missed multiple games with Hellas Verona but Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is confident he’ll be fit in time for the World Cup.
“He feels that he’ll be ready. We’ve got that bit of time to watch him and see where it’s at now,” Arnold said on ABC Grandstand on October 30.
Centre-backs Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles have both overcome injuries just in time for the World Cup. Souttar was on the bench for Stoke City on November 6, while Rowles came on as a substitute for Hearts on the same day.
Socceroos stars, strengths & weaknesses
Australia have had a mixed 2022 to date but did just enough to book their place at a fifth straight World Cup.
The Socceroos have failed to escape their group since 2006 and will be hoping this is the year they can progress further.
Stars
Scotland-based Aaron Mooy and Martin Boyle are two of the more consistent performers for this current Australia team.
Playmaker Ajdin Hrustic has also shown glimpses of his star potential and is currently playing in Serie A with Hellas Verona – his ability to create will be key to igniting the Socceroos attack. A recent injury has, however, cast some doubt over whether he will be able to play at the World Cup.
Teenager Garang Kuol is a rising star and will join Newcastle United in January after starring at club level in Australia.
Strengths
Australia have been blessed with some serious talent in midfield over the past decade with no shortage of quality in this area of the park.
Defensively, the Socceroos are also seeing a talented bunch of youngsters step up with Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles looming as real assets at the back for years to come.
Weaknesses
Scoring goals.
Arguably since Tim Cahill, no player has been able to step up regularly in the final third for Australia. In fact, the team will head to Qatar with the starting striker spot still up in the air.
While the Socceroos scored for fun in the early stages of World Cup qualifying, they struggled to break down stronger opposition, failing to score against Japan and Saudi Arabia in 2022.
Socceroos projected starting lineup at World Cup 2022
Just like the squad, Australia’s starting side for the 2022 World Cup is still very much a calculated guess at this stage.
In the Socceroos’ two playoff matches, they deployed a 4-1-4-1 formation but prior to that were using a 4-3-3 variation with two of their midfielders sitting deeper.
Possible Socceroos starting side (4-3-3): Ryan (GK) — Behich, Souttar, Wright, Atkinson — Mooy, Irvine, Hrustic — Boyle, Cummings, Mabil.
For the World Cup, Arnold may opt for a more defensive formation with group D games against France, Denmark and Tunisia set to test their backline.