Match Preview: CommBank Socceroos v Switzerland | International Friendly

The CommBank Socceroos will take on Switzerland in their final friendly before the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Players will have the opportunity to embed their principles and have one last hit-out ahead of the tournament.

The game will be held in Vancouver, Canada. It is the second time that Australia and Switzerland have met, the first since a scoreless draw in 2010.

The Squad

Head Coach Tony Popovic selected the final 26-player squad that will go to the World Cup at the beginning of the week and now these players have one last chance to impress and push for minutes at the global finals.

Experience ranges all the way from Maty Ryan, who could become the record appearance holder for the national side during the tournament, to the uncapped Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi.

"We'll try and get more players minutes, because there are some players that haven't played since early May, and some even earlier," Popovic said pre-match.

"You need to try and give them some minutes to have the confidence in themselves that, if required next week, that they're ready to go. We're trying to balance continuity with giving minutes to players, so if we get that - and hopefully you know everyone's healthy after the game - then we'll be very happy."

Last Game

The CommBank Socceroos fell 1-0 to Mexico last week in what was a positive learning experience with competitive games ahead.

Mexico scored from a set piece in the first half. Despite a much-improved second 45, and creating a number of chances, Australia were not quite able to secure the equalising goal.

Popovic said that they would be taking the lessons from the game against Mexico into this one.

"How can we start a bit better? When I say start a bit better, how do we match that level of physicality that we came up against Mexico? Because I think you'll find that in most games the first, let's say, 15 minutes, there'll be a lot of duels and a lot of physicality. If we can match that better, then we can start the game better, and then we showed that we could do really well in the second half, so that's real positive for us."

The Opponent

Switzerland are another strong opponent who will test the CommBank Socceroos ahead of the World Cup.

The World No. 19 have advanced from their group in four of the previous five World Cups and have the calibre of player to challenge the world's best. They qualified for the global finals by finishing on top of their qualifying group of Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo. They were undefeated during the campaign, only conceding two goals.

Former Swiss international Murat Yakin has been at the helm since 2021. The team are likely to line up - at least initially - in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a largely settled side and a solid structure.

33-year-old Granit Xhaka remains an essential part of the Switzerland side. The former Arsenal player has shown little sign of letting up on the international stage, and closing him down in midfield will be key for the Socceroos.

Up top, Breel Embolo was their top scorer in qualifying and will hope to continue that form in North America.

"They'll be different to Mexico. It's a more measured approach," Popovic said.

"They obviously know what they want to do. When they qualified, they scored lots of goals, they concede very little. They're a really strong nation with a lot of experience."

FIFA World Rankings

Australia: 27
Switzerland: 19

Head-to-head

Played: 1
Wins: 0
Draws: 1
Losses: 0

Form Guide

Australia form guide: L-W-W-L-L

Switzerland form guide: W-D-L-D-W

What They Said

Tony Popovic

It'll be different to the the intensity of what Mexico produced over that whole first half, but when they go, they go quick, you know? If they win the ball in a dangerous area, before you know it, they've had a shot on goal. They know how to contain, they know how to take pressure, and they know how to switch into another gear, and that comes from a lot of experience and a lot of big games that they've all played together. There are different parts of the game that we have to deal with, and again, it will be a great experience for us. We've gained a lot from the Mexico game, and I anticipate we'll gain a lot from this game as well tomorrow.

Connor Metcalfe

It's going to be a really good test. We know a lot of their players have amazing quality and they play at huge clubs. It's going to be a different game to the Mexican one, but it's an awesome opportunity for us to get that top European challenge for before we play Turkey.

Match Details

Australia vs Switzerland