WATCH: Tony Popovic on injuries, selection battles & the Socceroos’ World Cup build-up
Australia Head Coach Tony Popovic spoke to the media ahead of the CommBank Socceroos' FIFA Series matches against Cameroon and Curaçao later this month.
Speaking at Football Australia's headquaters, the press conference covered a wide range of topics from injury updates, to potential players in the mix for squad selection, FIFA World Cup 2026 preparation and much more.
General squad fitness update
That's always something with players that we can't control (injuries). Especially when, you're not a club coach where you can have some control over injuries. But it's something that we've had, unfortunately, since October, since we came in. There has always been players that are injured, short term, long term. We've still got Harry Souttar out, we've hardly seen him, Jackson Irvine in and out, Jordy Bos. So we've had a lot of these situations and, you know, we've always approached it as just trying to find a solution and, you know, try and increase the depth and quality of the squad and we'll have to do the same.
Unfortunately for Lewis (Miller) it's obviously heartbreaking for him. And, you know for any athlete, elite athlete that, knows that they are out of a major tournament, something they've dreamt about. You know, it's difficult. So he's getting to that stage now, restarting his rehabilitation. So he's moving on from obviously the acute pain that you have in terms of the injury and also psychologically, and we've got some other injuries that have that have come up now. We even got one last night with Kusini Yengi. And I think we'll be out for two to three months with a quad injury. So it was a player we're looking at now to see, how he's traveling because he's doing quite well in Japan from all reports. So we just have to monitor the players and keep trying to find solutions.
Cristian Volpato update
Nothing has changed from us. So we're not we're not selling the shirt to anyone. What's probably changed is that, you know, Paul (Okon) has been in touch with him regularly since we've, started in October. And the coaches are doing that with all the players. And this on this occasion, he indicated that he'd be interested in a discussion about playing for Australia.
And once he indicated that to Paul, then I was in Europe and we both went over to see him, have a chat to him. We went to his match, he didn't play unfortunately, but so we just wanted to see, what he's thinking, where he's at at the moment in terms of his football, in terms of where he sees, internationally going forward. We told him about our plans, what we're trying to do, and then the rest is up to him.
We didn't put any, though. No ultimatum. So. Or any pressure. It was it was a discussion. And, you know, if he wants to play for Australia, whether that's, I don't know, let's say three months, six months a year, you know, the, the young men you have to respect, the decisions I have to make. He's gone through the junior process.
A lot of that with the Italian national teams. He's a quality young player that has a lot of potential. He hasn't played a lot of football. If you've had a look recently the last four games, and he's not come on at all. But he has potential now that he's indicated he's open to the idea. Now the rest is just, for him to decide.
Mo Toure injury update after strong Norwich start
We've been in touch with Mo (Toure). I thought he had an exciting move to Norwich. He hit the ground running, scoring, playing and unfortunately he's broken down. But I think that's just something that Mo has been working on. In previous years. He's had a lot of injuries, a lot of soft tissue injuries. He's improved physically. But, you know, going from Denmark, playing one game a week, he's now gone to the Championship where it's every three or four days, playing in the winter. Cooler conditions backing up, long travel. Unfortunately, he's broken down but you know, he's in a good place. He's a very well grounded, young man with a lot of ambition.
And he'll work extremely hard to try and make himself available and it gives someone else a chance now. And we'll see in terms of, who we bring in or whether it could be someone, that we try that maybe plays in a different position on the pitch for us at the moment and see whether they can be a nine, in a different role.
Mile Jedinak adjusting to new role well
He's settled in, very well. That was, just an opportunity that obviously popped up when he no longer had his role at, Nottingham Forest. He's a former captain, I mean, his credentials are clear for everyone in club football, but also internationally, he's played with some of the players is captain them, so yeah, we're using him well in the UK in terms of visiting players.
We had him with us for two weeks in January. We had the whole football staff here where we got together, for a couple of weeks in Sydney. I think that was good for him to meet all the other coaches and get an understanding of how we are working and, and the different challenges you have, in international in football. He's settled in well, and we're looking forward to getting him out on the park and helping the players be better out there where it matters.
Base camp in Oakland amidst current global political climate
It's obviously precarious, with what's happening in the world at the moment. But we're very comfortable with our set up that we will have for the World Cup, our base camp. We've got a lot of staff that are all trickling back, from the States now.
So everyone's trying to play their part to make sure that it's as comfortable as possible that, as you said, every detail is covered, on the field, off the field. And we're very confident that we'll be in great surroundings and great people that want to make us welcome and help us to prepare as well as we can, to feel at home in Oakland and then to be able to produce when it matters in the World Cup.
Jackson Irvine's return from injury and managing foot issue
He's managing it. Obviously he's playing and playing well. And then they've been on a wonderful run since he's been back in the team. It will be an ongoing issue, the foot that he will have to manage in the short term. And we'll have to see whether that can be managed all the way through to the World Cup.
Obviously, selfishly, for us we hope he can, he's a wonderful player and leader, which he's showing for his club side at the moment. And we'd love to have him at the World Cup. But we also know with, with that injury that it can turn quickly. He's experienced so he knows how to manage his body and he's doing a really good job at that. Basically with him, it's basically day by day, week by week. You're right, in January, I thought he's out. I thought he's out of the World Cup. Last month I still thought the same. And now we're at this stage, now we're getting to March, and he's still fit, healthy, playing really well, so hopefully that can continue.
Antonio Arena situation
Obviously different because he's very young. He's over there. We've had a lot of dialogue with him. The Federation's had a lot of dialogue with him. So it's just staying in touch with him, knowing that we're here. We're here to support him. Again, no pressure on the kid, just enjoy football, keep people progressing, keep developing, and let's see how that plays out. But, certainly no pressure from our side. But we're all delighted that he's doing well and hopefully that will continue.
World Cup preparation
The training camp in Florida, Sarasota is obviously geared towards the preparation phase for us. In particular for the players to finish earlier. We've got a lot of players who maybe finish early May in Europe, in particular, the Championship finishes then and then we have the various different stages, mid-May, late May, I think 23rd, 24th is really the last cutoff point for a few of the players in the top leagues.
But they're humid conditions, they're hot conditions, the set up is fantastic there, the training pitches. There are things for the players to do away from the field as well, to keep that balance right. You're away together for a very long time. So, we need to manage that also with staff and players.
So we're very happy with that set up and what we will get out of that. And then we're very fortunate to have, as I mentioned earlier, having a wonderful training base in Oakland. Travel time, we've looked at so we don't really have to travel more than a couple of hours on a flight to Vancouver and Seattle, which is very close to each other.
So we're very comfortable with the preparation and a lot of people here at the FA and obviously the, the coaching staff have done so much hard work, in the background to, to make sure that our preparation can be the best it can be. We want players to thrive in that environment, understand what they're there for, but also to enjoy every part of it.
Speaking and learning from other managers
I think in football, we are all a little bit protective of what we are doing, especially when you're up against each other. I think, what I've learned in this role is that when you go to club sides, they're a lot more open with you about what they do because they don't see you as direct competition.
So at the World Cup draw, when I was speaking to the other coaches, they're not giving me much, I'm not giving them much that. But I have found going around to club sides, me and Paolo (Paul Okon) went to Juventus as well, and, very open obviously club sides. So they're very open to, share with you what they're doing, and also why they're doing it and how they're training, how they prepare, what their periodisation is and the challenges they have.
So there's a bit of insight and, probably I'm looking more, outside of that and trying to get some insight from, people that have experienced, five or six weeks away with a group, which I haven't done before in terms of this level. So ten days, I've done the camps. Now I understand where everyone is at eight, nine, ten where it's so intense that period that you think, okay, everyone always just about looks like they need a break from me maybe, or from the environment. But how do you manage five or six weeks.
So, I'm speaking to a lot of different codes. I actually had breakfast with Eddie Jones in Tokyo which was interesting. And so I'm not judging anyone, and he's had a very successful career, whether what everyone thinks about someone's work and could be the same with me, but when you've coached at least four different nations, you've done many five or six preparation.
And his insight, he was very open and showed me a lot of information and also, had how he learned from things that they did wrong in terms of with his family and friends, or whether it's not giving enough days off to the staff or the players.
And how do you manage that five, six weeks, because we want to hit the first game, at the highest level and hit the ground running. But we also don't want to fall off a cliff straight after the first game. So how do you keep going that way. So I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Obviously we have our ideas and we have our own expert coaches and people here that are advising us and supporting us. But I plan to visit a few more people from different sports that have experienced that before. And see how, we can manage that five, six weeks the best we can, that we can keep improving and getting better and better as the games go on
Upcoming Matches
Australia vs Cameroon
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Date: Friday 27 March 2026
Kick-off: Australia vs Cameroon (8.10pm), China PR vs Curacao (5:00pm)
Broadcast: 10 Drama, 10 Streaming and Paramount+
Tickets: Buy tickets here
Australia vs Curaçao
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Date: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Kick-off: Australia vs Curaçao (8.10pm), China PR vs Cameroon (5.00pm)
Broadcast: 10 Drama, 10 Streaming and Paramount+
Tickets: Buy tickets here