Socceroos Abroad: Circati celebrates Serie A promotion as Burgess, Irvine and Metcalfe near triumphs in England and Germany

In a big week for our Socceroos Abroad, Alessandro Circati secured Serie A promotion for Parma, Cameron Burgess put Ipswich on the brink of the Premier League with a midweek winner, while St Pauli eyes Bundesliga qualification with a potential victory.

Silverware also remains up for grabs in Italy, Germany, Qatar and India. 

Check out our wrap of all the midweek action and find out what is coming up. 

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Subway Socceroos

Starting in Italy, where Alessandro Circati (cap #637) helped seal automatic promotion to Serie A with Parma by playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Bari on Thursday.

The Crocati only needed a point from its remaining three matches to return to the top tier of Italian football for the first time since the 2020/21 season and they will now aim to finish the season in first place as they currently lie three points clear of second-ranked Como.

 


He is likely to feature again on Sunday at 11pm (AEST) when they host Cremonese.

READ MORE: Alessandro Circati secures Serie A promotion with Parma

QUIZ: Can you name every Australian international who has played in Serie A? 

In the Europa Conference League semi-finals, Joe Gauci (cap #631) was on the bench for Aston Villa on Friday as they lost 4-2 to Olympiacos in the first leg of their tie at home. The second leg will take place in a week. 

He could be on the bench again in the Premier League on Sunday at 11pm (AEST) when they face Brighton away.

Elsewhere in England, where Cameron Burgess (cap #633) played another 90 minutes for Ipswich Town on Wednesday and scored the crucial winning goal as they took a huge step to Premier League promotion with a 2-1 victory over Coventry City. 

Massimo Luongo (cap #571) also played 90 minutes in the match. Both have been regulars in former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna's side this season. 

 


The Tractor Boys move three points clear of Leeds in second place in the Championship with just one match for both sides remaining.

Ipswich now require just one point from their final Championship game against League One-bound Huddersfield Town on Saturday at 9:30pm (AEST) to go up. If achieved, it would mark just the fourth instance of back-to-back promotions in the Premier League era.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Samuel Silvera (cap #634) is likely to feature for Middlesbrough when they end their season against Watford on Saturday at 9:30pm (AEST). 

With Middlesbrough guaranteed a top-10 finish, they will be looking to end their season with a win. 

Over to the EFL League One play-offs, Gethin Jones (cap #639) faces a tough clash for Bolton Wanderers when they face Barnsley on Saturday at 4:30am (AEST) in the first leg at Oakwell Stadium.

 


Bolton missed out on automatic promotion following three draws in their last four matches but after losing over two legs against Barnsley last season in the play-offs, they will be looking for revenge. 

In the Norwegian Cup third round on Thursday, Gianni Stesness (cap #617) played a full game while Patrick Yazbek (cap #641) came off the bench in the 68th minute as Viking FK beat Tromsadalen 4-0.

They will likely return to Eliteserien action alongside Nick D’Agostino (cap #621) on Monday at 3:15am (AEST) against Tromso. 

Over to Korea, where Harrison Delbridge (cap #623) played the full 90 minutes for Incheon United and scored a goal on Wednesday as they beat Jeonbuk 3-0.

 


They return to K League 1 action on Sunday at 5:30pm (AEST) when they travel to Gimcheon Sangmu.

To Qatar now, where Trent Sainsbury (cap #574) played a full game again on Wednesday for Al-Wakrah as they advanced to the Qatar Cup final with a 5-4 penalty shootout win after their match with Al Sadd ended in a 2-2 draw. 

The final will be held on Sunday at 2am (AEST) when they face Al Rayyan. 

Heading to Germany, where Jackson Irvine (cap #568) and Connor Metcalfe's (cap #611) St Pauli can seal their place in next season's Bundesliga with a win over local rivals Hamburg on Saturday at 2:30am (AEST).

 


Also, John Iredale (cap #640) is likely to come off the bench for Wehen Wiesbaden on Sunday at 9:30pm (AEST) against Holstein Kiel.

In the Eredivisie, Mathew Ryan (cap #555) should be the goalkeeper for AZ Alkmaar as they host FC Twente on Monday at 12:45am (AEST).

AZ currently occupy fourth and are all but guaranteed a Europa League qualifying place but they could close the gap on Twente, who sit in third entertaining a Champions League qualifying spot.

 


Ajdin Hrustic (cap #589) is also likely to feature from the outset for Heracles when they host RKC Waalwijk on Sunday at 8:15pm (AEST).

Finally, Garang Kuol (cap #627) might be on the bench for FC Volendam on Sunday at 10:30pm (AEST) when they host Ajax, looking to pick up points to give themselves a chance of escaping relegation. 

Over to Scotland, where Kye Rowles (cap #622), Cameron Devlin (cap #625) and Nathaniel Atkinson (cap #620) might all start for Hearts as they travel to Celtic on Sunday at 12am (AEST).

Hearts have all but sealed third in the Scottish Premiership with an 11-point lead over Kilmarnock in fourth with just four matches left. 

However, there will be an added incentive for Celtic as they close in on the title and look to get one over Hearts after losing to the Tynecastle club in their last two meetings.

 


St Mirren’s Keanu Baccus (cap #628) and Ryan Strain (cap #624) travel to Dundee at the same time.

At the other end of the table, Martin Boyle (cap #599) and Lewis Miller (cap #635) could line up for Hibernian when they face Ross County on Sunday at 12am (AEST). 

St Johnstone’s Ryan McGowan (cap #546) could also be in action at the same time in the Scottish Premiership when they face Aberdeen.

Dylan McGowan (cap #590) looks set to start for Hamilton Academical on Sunday at 12am (AEST) when the side hosts Kelty Hearts in the Scottish League One to end the campaign in second position. They will enter a two-legged Championship play-off to fight for promotion to the top league. 

Over to Belgium, where Jordan Bos (cap #632) is likely to start for Westerlo when they host STVV on Saturday at 4:45am (AEST). 

James Holland (cap #508) is also likely to feature for Austria Wien when they face Austria Lustenau on Saturday at 3:30am (AEST) as they look to hold their position at the top of the relegation round play-offs. 

Alex Gersbach (cap #587) could play again for Kalmar FF when they host second-placed Halmstad on Saturday at 11pm (AEST) in Sweden's Allsvenskan.

Fran Karacic (cap #607) is likely to play a full game for NK Rudes when they host Istra 1961 on Sunday at 1am (AEST) in Croatia’s HNL. NK Rudes sit last in the league with four games remaining and cannot escape relegation. 

Over to Asia, where Mitch Duke (cap #559) might get some minutes for Machida Zelvia in their J1 League fixture against Kashiwa Reysol on Friday at 4pm (AEST) before they travel to Kyoto Sanga on Monday at 3pm (AEST). 

Machida sit second in the league and will be looking to bounce back after defeat in their last match. 


Elsewhere, Mitch Langerak (cap #566) should start in goal when Nagoya Grampus host Vissel Kobe on Friday at 8pm (AEST) and then travel to Sanfrecce on Monday at 4pm (AEST). 

Kenny Dougall (cap #608) will play for Buriram United in their match with Nakhon Pathom on Saturday at 9pm (AEST) in the Thai League.

In India, Jason Cummings (cap #626) and Dimitri Petratos (cap #593) are likely to feature for Mohun Bagan as they face Mumbai City in the ISL final on Sunday at 12am (AEST). 

In Major League Soccer, Brad Smith (cap #575) could get minutes for Houston Dynamo on Sunday at 10:30am (AEST) for their home game against St. Louis City SC.

Subway Olyroos

Nicholas Bilokapic is likely to be on the bench for Peterborough United in the EFL League One play-off semi-finals on Sunday at 4:15am (AEST) when they travel to Oxford United.

Nectarios Triantis will continue his return from injury for Hibernian’s visit to Ross County on Sunday at 12am (AEST) in the Scottish Premiership.

Louis D'Arrigo could also feature for Lechia Gdansk on Sunday at 2am (AEST) when they face third-placed GKS Tychy. 

Gdansk hold a one-point lead at the top of the table as they chase promotion to Poland's top tier with four games remaining. 

Adrian Segecic could feature in the Eerste Divisie as Dordrecht face Willem II on Saturday at 4am (AEST).

Cameron Peupion could appear for Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend in the Premier League against Aston Villa on Sunday at 11pm (AEST).

In Denmark, Tyrese Francois could feature for Vejle Boldklub when they face OB on Tuesday at 3am (AEST) in the Group B play-offs of the Superliga.

In the MLS, Giuseppe Bovalina could make his debut for Vancouver Whitecaps FC when they face Austin on Sunday at 12:30pm (AEST).

Bovalina signed for Vancouver after making a total of 21 Isuzu-UTE A League Men’s appearances and 52 RAA NPLSA appearances in his tenure with Adelaide United.

In the K-League 1 League, Alexandar Popovic could feature for Gwangju FC on Monday at 5:30pm (AEST) when they face Daejeon Hana.