Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach, Tony Popovic has named an extended 26-man squad ahead of Australia’s AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 fixtures against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The November FIFA Men’s International Window will see Australia take on Saudi Arabia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Victoria on Thursday, 14 November (kick-off 8.00pm AEDT) and Bahrain at the Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa on Tuesday, 19 November (9.15pm local/5.15am AEDT – Wednesday, 20 November).

Four matches into their Round Three campaign, Australia currently sits second in Group C on five points following their victory over China PR at Adelaide Oval and a draw on the road to Japan at Saitama Stadium 2002 during October.

Max Balard (NAC Breda) earns his first senior national team call up, rewarded for his strong form in the Eredivisie since arriving in the Netherlands during the off-season. Sydney FC’s Hayden Matthews also joins the Subway Socceroos for the first time, and will do so alongside club teammates, Anthony Caceres and Rhyan Grant.

The Isuzu UTE A-League Men is also represented through Melbourne Victory FC’s Jason Geria and Nishan Velupillay and the returning Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers FC).

Milos Degenek (FK Crvena zvezda) re-joins the Subway Socceroos for the first time since October 2023, following an extended stint on the sideline with injury. Martin Boyle (Hibernian FC) returns following his successful recovery from wrist surgery, while Kusini Yengi (Portsmouth FC) has been named after missing the last FIFA Men’s International Window.

Aiden O’Neill (Standard de Liège) and Jordy Bos (K.V.C Westerlo) will make the trip to Melbourne from Belgium, as they continue to impress in the Pro League. Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town FC) arrives in camp fresh off a Premier League debut, joined by Riley McGree (Middlesbrough FC) and Harry Souttar (Sheffield United).

Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach, Tony Popovic said the camp presented a new opportunity to build on his squad’s efforts in October.

“We’re in the early stages of this journey as a group and we’ll continue to implement the style of play that will be the foundation of our success throughout this cycle,” Popovic said.

“It’s an important series of fixtures and we’re looking forward to finishing off the year on the right note, and equally, putting on a strong performance for the people of Melbourne who have shown us such great support in recent years,” Popovic concluded.

Scheduled to be played from September 2024 to June 2025, the AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 will feature three groups of six teams playing in a home-and-away, round-robin format, offering direct qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ for the top two finishers of each group.

To find out all the latest information on fixtures, results and Third Round Qualification updates please click here.

The Subway Socceroos FIFA World Cup 2026™ Qualifiers will be broadcast live thanks to Football Australia’s broadcast partner, Paramount Australia.

Match Details

Subway Socceroos v Saudi Arabia
Thursday, 14 November 2024
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: 10, 10 Play and Paramount+

Bahrain v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday 19 November 2024 
Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa
Kick-off: 9.15pm local (5.15am AEDT – Wednesday, 20 November)
Broadcast: Paramount+

SUBWAY SOCCEROOS’ SQUAD l NOVEMBER FIFA MEN’S INTERNATIONAL WINDOW