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2026 World Cup Squad

Bbouy said:
Another thing I don’t understand is Popovic said we will take three train-on players, we are cutting three players, a goalkeeper, defender and attacker presumably? There’s still three weeks till the World Cup, including two friendlies. What happens if a midfielder goes down? We re-call Robertson or are we moving one of the attackers into the midfield as depth or using Trewin as a midfielder? Feels like it would’ve been best to keeep Robbo in camp at least as train-on player up until the first game.
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I don't think it was the world cup but I remember we lost an attacker and he was replaced by Bailey Wright.

Should we lose a midfielder is guess it makes Trewin or Leckie even more important.
 
grazorblade said:
I actually think Metcalf provides more balance than mcgree. If you have irankunda, bos and toure around you, you need a player to provide those killer balls and keep defensive shape.

If mcgree is there I suspect we play him and metcalf in the forwards haha
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Metcalfe needs to be given a licence to turn it on. Enough of these feeble tap passes to pass the buck. Take the opportunities in front of you.
 
If we keep passing it back and ignoring space ahead someone has to go hard and Popovic and the players and ask what they're even doing.

Bring to note pad with the numbers. Passed back 4 times more often than forward or specific moments we just went back. Ask what the actual plan is.
 
JS96 said:
Metcalfe needs to be given a licence to turn it on. Enough of these feeble tap passes to pass the buck. Take the opportunities in front of you.
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Agree that Connor Metcalfe needs to be able to express himself more in midfield instead of being restricted by the tactical system which Popovic is implementing at the Socceroos that forces our players to be disciplined and pass the ball back as opposed to being able to progress downfield.
 
I think this needs to be the XI

Metcalfe - Toure - Irankunda
Irvine - Devlin ?
Bos --------------------------------Italiano
Herrington - Souttar - Circati
Ryan
​
I'm ambivalent about the 2nd midfielder. We don't have a good progressive passer there so I'd prefer to cover Irvine - who does have a high risk pass in him. Rely on the wing backs.

Herrington v Burgess is much of a muchness but Herrington has the potential to be something special and he and Circati help our ball progression more than our mids. They can step out.
 
DandyCasey said:
Starting lineup

-------------------------Ryan
-----Souttar------Circati------Burgess
Italiano----Irvine------Metcalfe-----Bos
-----------Mabil-----------------Hrustic
----------------------Toure
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Not sure about Irvine and Metcalfe together in central midfield. They were not good enough to both start and play there for St. Pauli who were relegated from the Bundesliga. Irvine and O’Neill or even Irvine and Leckie please. Mabil and Hrustic also not good enough. Irankunda and who? Just looked at the squad and there isn’t anyone who jumps out to partner Irankunda. Please not Borello!
 
Kitwally said:
Not sure about Irvine and Metcalfe together in central midfield. They were not good enough to both start and play there for St. Pauli who were relegated from the Bundesliga. Irvine and O’Neill or even Irvine and Leckie please. Mabil and Hrustic also not good enough. Irankunda and who? Just looked at the squad and there isn’t anyone who jumps out to partner Irankunda. Please not Borello!
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Behich at LWB and Bos and Irankunda behind Toure and then let them all roam up front
 
HonestSpursFan said:
Woulda taken him in the training squad but not sure if I woulda picked him. He needs a step up from the Eerste Divisie now that Roda aren’t going up.
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Best at holding possession, best channel passer and (with Devlin) best ball winner in midfield.

I am completely baffled by his non-selection by Popa.
 
I was curious what Brandon Borello was doing to catch poppas eye, here is his wagon wheel....the finishing is poor as is the decision making (making lots of dumb shots) but he progresses the ball a lot with high success and sets up a lot of chances. I guess poppa said he isn't looking for the best player but the best profile and wants a player that can get his team out of his own half. Probably won't make the final squad mind youScreenshot 2026-05-27 at 7.33.28.png
 
grazorblade said:
I was curious what Brandon Borello was doing to catch poppas eye, here is his wagon wheel....the finishing is poor as is the decision making (making lots of dumb shots) but he progresses the ball a lot with high success and sets up a lot of chances. I guess poppa said he isn't looking for the best player but the best profile and wants a player that can get his team out of his own half. Probably won't make the final squad mind youView attachment 7157
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HAHAHAHAHAHA a player is "elite" in "expected" assists... HAHAHAHA GTF outta here
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
HAHAHAHAHAHA a player is "elite" in "expected" assists... HAHAHAHA GTF outta here
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well if a player is regularly serving the ball on a platter for team mates and they shoot it into row z, should they be punished for his team mates poor shooting when selecting the best team?

mind you it looks like he shoots it into row z as well, often from 30 yards out
 
My take on the final 26:
GKs: Ryan,Izzo,Beach
RB: Italiano,Trewin
LB: Bos,Behich
CBs:Circati,Burgess,Souttar,Herrington,Rowles,Geria
DMs: O'Neill,Irvine,Okon-Engstler,Devlin
AMs: Metcalfe,Leckie,Hrustic,Boyle,Mabil
Striker: Toure,Irankunda,T Yengi,Borello

From that squad my starting XI
Ryan

Italiano Circati Burgess Souttar Bos

O'Neill. Irvine

Irankunda Toure Metcalfe

Robertson and Duke should have been in the squad but it is what it is.Robertson would have been McGree's replacement.Trewin is not an ideal RB back up but with Geria and Leckie in the squad either could play there if needed.Similarly Rowles at LB for Bos/Behich if an injury occurs.Metcalfe can invert from the left letting Bos bomb on down the left wing.
If there is a doubt about O'Neill's ankle Okon-Engstler could be a starter.Velupillay is a Popa favourite but Borello is still there so maybe he has impressed in the train on squad.
 
grazorblade said:
well if a player is regularly serving the ball on a platter for team mates and they shoot it into row z, should they be punished for his team mates poor shooting when selecting the best team?

mind you it looks like he shoots it into row z as well, often from 30 yards out
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A more useful set of data points to plot is not how many times he "assists" but the quality of those balls and to WHAT type of run/player they are distributed. A winger cutting back a penalty area ball for the big lad to side foot it is one thing and a set piece technician is another.. My beef isnt with the data its with the reliance of it to make decisions that dont always reflect ALL the variables.

In this example Borello has a high expected assist expectation... you would expect that if he is paired up top with a player with a wagon wheel showing high shot and anticipated goal conversion that this would have some degree of success on the pitch no? I say you can pair Borello with Thomas Muller and we still wouldn't get an assist out of it, expected or otherwise :P.
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
A more useful set of data points to plot is not how many times he "assists" but the quality of those balls and to WHAT type of run/player they are distributed. A winger cutting back a penalty area ball for the big lad to side foot it is one thing and a set piece technician is another.. My beef isnt with the data its with the reliance of it to make decisions that dont always reflect ALL the variables.

In this example Borello has a high expected assist expectation... you would expect that if he is paired up top with a player with a wagon wheel showing high shot and anticipated goal conversion that this would have some degree of success on the pitch no? I say you can pair Borello with Thomas Muller and we still wouldn't get an assist out of it, expected or otherwise :P.
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well I don't know what poppa is doing, I doubt he is just looking at wagon wheels

but I was baffled why borello was kept and duke was dropped since I saw them as similar players. One important use of data is humans are naturally biased and it provides an objective check on that - what am I missing that poppa might be seeing (assuming what he is seeing is performance and not incriminating photos)

as for quality of balls, xa per shot assist should measure that. If there is a big gap between xa as well as xa per shot assist then that shows his team mates suck at shooting

incidentally, if you pay for an account, the company that produces these wagon wheels have videos of every shot assist he has made this season, so it isn't just data but also the video context
 
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