Tony Popovic has handed first senior call-ups to Livingston striker Tete Yengi and Sassuolo winger Cristian Volpato as Australia named their 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, veteran Hibernian forward Martin Boyle — capped 41 times — is a notable absentee.

Yengi's loan spell earns him a World Cup place

Despite being loaned out by Livingston to Japanese club Machida Zelvia in January while his parent club battled relegation from the Scottish Premiership, the 25-year-old Yengi made a compelling case for inclusion. He struck six goals in 22 appearances, helping Machida Zelvia finish third in Japan's East Region and reach the final of the Asian Champions League.

Volpato's inclusion was made possible after FIFA ratified the 22-year-old's switch from Italy's youth setup on Friday, clearing the former Italy Under-21 winger to represent the Socceroos.

Milestone appearances in the making

Former Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Mat Ryan, now at Levante, and Melbourne City striker Mathew Leckie are both in line to equal the national record by appearing at a fourth World Cup. Former Dundee United left-back Aziz Behich, now of Melbourne City, and St Pauli midfielder Jackson Irvine — a former Hull City man — are set to feature at their third tournament.

Heart of Midlothian midfielder Cammy Devlin and Leicester City centre-half Harry Souttar, who was born in Aberdeen and whose brother John is named in the Scotland squad, are among those making their second World Cup appearance. Swansea City centre-half Cameron Burgess, Watford winger Nestory Irankunda, and Norwich City striker Mohamed Toure are also included.

Popovic acknowledges tough calls

Former Hearts defender Kye Rowles, now at DC United, was added late to the pre-tournament training camp but ultimately did not make the final cut.

Popovic acknowledged the difficulty of the selection process.

"Some difficult decisions had to be made — that's the nature of major tournaments. But it's also a credit to all the players involved over the past few weeks who worked extremely hard during an extended and challenging pre-camp."

Australia face Switzerland in a final warm-up friendly on Saturday before opening their World Cup campaign against Turkey on 14 June.

Australia World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Ryan (Levante), Izzo (Randers), Beach (Melbourne City).

Defenders: Behich (Melbourne City), Bos (Feynoord), Burgess (Swansea City), Circati (Parma), Degenek (APOEL), Geria (Albirex Niigata), Herrington (Colorado Rapids), Italiano (Grazer), Souttar (Leicester City), Trewin (New York City).

Midfielders: Devlin (Heart of Midlothian), Hrustic (Heracles Almelo), Irvine (St Pauli), Metcalfe (St Pauli), Okon-Englster (Sydney), O'Neill (New York City).

Forwards: Irankunda (Watford), Leckie (Melbourne City), Mabil (Castellon), Toure (Norwich City), Velupilly (Melbourne City), Volpato (Sassuolo), Yengi (Livingston/Machida Zelvia).