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2026 World Cup Squad

vanlassen said:
Graham Arnold didn’t pick his son-in-law
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Arnold picked Baccus and Jones.
Every coach will have players they like based on who they think will win them the match. It isn't a problem.
Sometimes egos or personalities clash to the detriment of the team. This can be problematic. But there is little evidence of this occurring in any Popovic side.
 
Cunningstunt said:
Arnold picked Baccus and Jones.
Every coach will have players they like based on who they think will win them the match. It isn't a problem.
Sometimes egos or personalities clash to the detriment of the team. This can be problematic. But there is little evidence of this occurring in any Popovic side.
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I think the main contention here is that some posters prefer other players than the ones Popovic has picked. That's OK. As I've said before its all just opinions but in the end when it comes to team selection the coach gets the final say.
 
Cunningstunt said:
Arnold picked Baccus and Jones.
Every coach will have players they like based on who they think will win them the match. It isn't a problem.
Sometimes egos or personalities clash to the detriment of the team. This can be problematic. But there is little evidence of this occurring in any Popovic side.
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If Arnie didnt pick Miller we d have beaten SK and would ve made the se mi in the last asian cup
 
Alex M said:
I think the main contention here is that some posters prefer other players than the ones Popovic has picked. That's OK. As I've said before its all just opinions but in the end when it comes to team selection the coach gets the final say.
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I don't know if this is the case in this circumstance. But there is an implication when saying 'favourite'. Meaning someone is being selected not on merit but because of some personal relationship or other type of conspiracy.
It is important to remember 'merit' in this case means who Popovic thinks should be selected to win him the match. Not who we think should be selected.
It is really just the conspiracy I push back against.
 
Cunningstunt said:
I don't know if this is the case in this circumstance. But there is an implication when saying 'favourite'. Meaning someone is being selected not on merit but because of some personal relationship or other type of conspiracy.
It is important to remember 'merit' in this case means who Popovic thinks should be selected to win him the match. Not who we think should be selected.
It is really just the conspiracy I push back against.
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When Popovic says 'Paulie' will be the mainstay of the next two World Cups it says he is picking him with that in mind - not because of his current ability but for his potential. That is not a conspiracy - that is what he said. Now he can make that decision - he is the manager - but it also can weaken the squad.

I just thing on current form he is not the best choice. In reality Kamijo has been playing the deeper of the two since he came in and Okon (who has looked better further up) should be competing with McGree and Robertson for a spot .
 
mkxx said:
With his form at Chelsea spain would def pick him
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My point was Brazil didn’t and Spain did. World-class squads want world-class players so good players often miss out. That doesn’t make that player bad. In fact, that’s kinda why teams like Morocco are so successful: millions of Europeans across multiple countries have Moroccan descent but many don’t touch the squads of their home countries (some definitely do like Achraf Hakimi who could’ve played for Spain) so they go and play for Morocco. It’s a similar story for teams like Indonesia, Suriname and any of the ABC Islands teams with Dutch players (and in Indonesia’s case also Australian players).
 
patjennings said:
When Popovic says 'Paulie' will be the mainstay of the next two World Cups it says he is picking him with that in mind - not because of his current ability but for his potential. That is not a conspiracy - that is what he said. Now he can make that decision - he is the manager - but it also can weaken the squad.

I just thing on current form he is not the best choice. In reality Kamijo has been playing the deeper of the two since he came in and Okon (who has looked better further up) should be competing with McGree and Robertson for a spot .
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Nothing you describe is a conspiracy. It is just difference of opinion. Which is fine.

I don't think Popa said he was just a pick based on potential, and saying he will be a mainstay for future world cups doesn't imply he is. There are previous press conferences I can remember where he was asked if Okon was a pick for potential and Popa explicitly said he was there because he showed enough in camp. He thinks he is the best selection right now.
 
rebelliousfeminist974 said:
I don't think it's an indication of which players Tony Popovic is going to name in the final 26-player list for the Socceroos but ultimately for those that do end up making the playing list for the World Cup they'll have to transition to the 1 through 26 numbering model when our campaign gets underway.
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patjennings said:
Given the numbers you have given that sounds quite likely. Maybe we have to see what Izzo, Gauci, Burgess and Irankunda have but Beach at 28 might be a clue. .
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I'm kind of hedging my bets too - I don't think it's a direct indication - I think we'll see a couple of these make the final squad depending on injury status and how they go at camp - but I think overall it could be seen as a general indication.

What is interesting will be if we haven't announced our final squad until AFTER the Mexico friendly
 
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