Socceroos boss Tony Popovic has thrown a World Cup lifeline to three of Australia’s stars from the nation’s equal-best Round of 16 run four years ago.
Popovic and several Australian players fly out on Wednesday to begin a pre-World Cup campaign in Florida, among them will be Mathew Leckie and Harry Souttar.
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Leckie holds a special place in Australian footballing history having scored the goal against Denmark that sent the Socceroos to the knockout stage in Qatar in 2022.
The 35-year-old has not worn the national colours for two years, however, meaning he has never played under Popovic.
Leckie was recently sidelined for five months with a hamstring injury but returned in time for the A-League finals with Melbourne City.
Even though City were beaten by Auckland FC on penalties in their elimination final on the weekend, Popovic liked what he saw from Leckie.
“If you watch the game just played, Mathew Leckie was the best player on the park at 35 with no football under his belt,” Popovic told reporters of the veteran who spent a decade playing club football in Germany earlier in his career.
“That, a young player can’t do just yet. That’s the difference.
“That’s what you need at a World Cup. Will he make the World Cup? It will come down to his body.
“But if you just look at the quality he could do at 35 with no football under his belt, a young player can’t do that.
“That’s just normal. He will maybe do it in time with experience, maturity and strength. They offer something different. They offer raw talent, the quality they have. You can see something is there.
“But we’re not talking about friendly games now. We’re talking about the World Cup.
“I think he showed on the weekend the difference. That’s the difference.”
Souttar was another star of the Qatar campaign with the towering centre back make plenty of crucial tackles in the group stage victories over Tunisia and Denmark as well as in the Round of 16 loss to Argentina.
The 27-year-old returned to the relegated Leicester City’s final two Championship games of the season after 15 months on the sidelines as a result of a ruptured Achilles.
Souttar managed to mark his return with a goal in Leicester’s 1-1 draw with playoff bound Millwall.
The 203cm tall centre back’s aerial threat is also a major asset to the Socceroos, having scored 11 goals in 36 appearances for the national team.
Popovic is clearly eager to ensure he is ready to go next month.
“If you watch him perform and you watch those two games, there is presence, there is aura, there is a leader,” Popovic said.
“You can’t get that in a young player overnight.”
The early stages of the Socceroos’ Florida camp is about giving the likes of Leckie and Souttar the chance to build their fitness to show Popovic they will be physically ready for the World Cup.
They will be joined by fellow star of four years ago Mitch Duke – who scored the winning goal against Tunisia – in arriving to camp early to prove their fitness.
Other early arrivals include Portsmouth’s Hayden Matthews as well as Duke’s Macarthur teammate Anthony Caceres, Western Sydney’s Brandon Borrello, Brisbane’s Nick D’Agostino and Melbourne Victory’s Nishan Velupillay.
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Players who have just finished, or are yet to finish, their club campaigns will be given some time off to refresh in the coming weeks.
Crunch time is nearing for Popovic, however, with a friendly locked in against Mexico in Los Angeles on May 31.
The following day on June 1, he must name his final 26-player squad plus train-on players.
Australia will play another friendly against Switzerland in San Diego on June 7 before their tournament opener against Turkiye in Vancouver on June 14.
They will then meet tournament co-hosts the USA in Seattle on June 20 and Paraguay in Santa Clara on June 26.
Group D has been billed as one of the toughest in the new-look 48-team tournament.
USA are the highest-ranked at 16th in the world, while Turkiye are the world No. 22 despite having to come through the European playoffs to earn their spot.
Australia are the third highest ranked at 27th and Paraguay are 40th.
Every game is therefore tipped to be a tight battle, and after shocking the world by making it out of the group for the second time ever in Qatar, Popovic is relishing the chance to take down some more highly fancied opponents.
“We’re always deemed as the underdog or the team that will be fighting for the bottom spot, and we have an opportunity through our actions and our performances and results to show that that can be different,” he said.
“And that’s what’s exciting for us, and that’s the challenge that awaits.”