07/06/2026

theSun on Sunday JUNE 7, 2026

2026 WORLD CUP

SPORTS 11

‘Fearless’ Socceroos ready for challenge AUSTRALIA coach Tony Popovic said his young World Cup squad is better than the Socceroos’ 2022 line-up and wanted his players to have high expectations of themselves despite their relative inexperi ence.

much sums up a lot of our players at the moment,” said Popovic. Australia launch their World Cup cam paign against Turkey on June 14 (12noon Malaysian time) in Vancouver. “What we have is a lot of young exuber ance. A lot of exciting talent, which is the start of a new cycle,” said Popovic. “I think they’re fearless. We’re trying to get that right mix ... but it should be a very exciting group for the Australian public.” The United States are favorites to pro gress, while Australia – traditionally stronger at several other sports, despite consistently qualifying for the World Cup – have mostly flown under the radar but have every inten tion of crashing co-hosts USA’s party. “It’s our role to spoil one part of it,” Socceroos midfielder Aiden O’Neill told AFP last week. “Obviously, I think it’s amazing that the World Cup is in the US, it’s growing. I can see that first hand, and I’m involved in that,” added O’Neill, who plays for MLS club New York City FC. “I think it’s really exciting... We’ll come first and they can come second!” he joked. O’Neill said the signature steeliness that runs throughout Australian sports could give his side the edge in reaching the knockout rounds against talented opposition. “I think you can see we will give abso lutely everything to get that result, and I think that could be the difference. There’s this fight and grit. It’s something that we have great pride in, plus determination.”

“We weren’t poor players four years ear lier. We were very good players,” Popovic said. “We were a great group. Four years later, we’re much better, so these boys will be good now. “I don’t want to dampen anyone’s expec tations. It is a young squad. Will they be bet ter in four and eight years? Without a doubt. “But that’s not to say they’re not good enough now. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t play them.” Yengi, the younger brother of Socceroos striker Kusini Yengi, was a late call-up to the pre-tournament camp in Florida, while Volpato joined the squad in California at the end of May. Neither played in Australia’s 1-0 friendly loss to Mexico at the Rose Bowl on May 30. Popovic said hulking 1.97m forward Yengi, who plays for Machida Zelvia in the Japanese top flight after being loaned out by Scottish side Livingston, could add some thing different to the attack in terms of his size and presence. Former Italy U-20 player Volpato turned down Arnold’s invitation to join the Socceroos for Qatar but has been

should have high expectations heading into the tournament in North America. Popovic’s 26-man squad fea tures 17 World Cup debutants, including two uncapped players in Japan-based striker Tete Yengi, 25, and 22-year-old attacker Cristian Volpato, who only switched There are 11 players who have earned fewer than 10 caps, including 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington and 22-year-old striker Mohamed Toure. At Qatar in 2022, Graham Arnold’s squad reached the last 16 after they became the first Australian side to win multiple matches at a World Cup. Popovic told reporters he allegiance from Italy to Australia in recent days.

Tony Popovic

rewarded for his late decision to ditch Italy. “He’s a very talented

player... There’s a lot of growth and potential still there, which pretty

Turkiye’s new generation eyes WC impact after 24-year absence

TURKIYE’S return to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years buoyed up by gifted young players – includ ing Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler – and by memories of their run to the 2002 semifinals, but doubts over consistency and big-match temperament persist. Coach Vincenzo Montella guided Turkiye through qualification with a series of narrow victories and restored optimism after an encour aging Euro 2024 campaign, with Guler emerging as the face of a team many Turkish fans believe could become the country’s strongest in decades. The squad also features Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz

to the semifinals, an achievement which still features heavily in the country’s football folklore. Ugurcan Cakir is a safe pair of hands and heads into the tourna ment having lifted the league title with Galatasaray. A centreback pairing of Abdulkerim Bardakci and Merih Demiral provide a fairly solid defence. The right-back Ferdi Kadioglu is well known to Brighton fans after a terrific season. Hakan Calhanoglu is now the elder statesman and has assumed a deep-lying playmaker role, self. The team is young, but the spine remains largely unchanged from the Euros two years ago. And the same problem persists: Montella does not have a proven striker. The position is up for grabs, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun a contender. The side will enter the World Cup capable of magic and madness. Whether this generation can cre ate its own history, however, may depend on whether Turkiye can finally overcome the volatility that has repeatedly prevented talented squads from delivering consistently on the biggest stage. while Besiktas’s Orkun Kokcu is in hot form and could make a name for him

D alongside hosts the United States, Paraguay and Australia, and will be based in Mesa, Arizona, for the tour nament. Much of Turkiye’s hopes are expected to rest on the creativity of Guler, whose rapid rise at Real Madrid has made him one of the country’s biggest sporting talents and raised expectations that he can lead a new era for the national team. The 21-year-old is unfazed by pressure, which is a blessing consid ering the weight of the country’s

defining reality check, suggesting deficits compared to the world’s elite sides despite the growing excite ment around the team’s attacking talent. The loss reinforced a reputa stronger opponents on their day, but equally vulnerable to emotional collapses and defensive disorgani sation. Montella has sought to bring greater tactical discipline and calm to a squad that has often struggled with inconsistency over the past two tion that has long followed Turkiye: capable of upsetting

and several Europe-based players who have raised expectations that Turkiye can finally build on the legacy of the side that finished third at the 2002 World Cup under

expectations are

on his shoulders. Described by Thierry Henry as “an undisputed, elite world-class tal ent”, Guler is the creative spark in this team with an eye for goal. The midfielder has risen to the occasion for his country when called upon. The national team is not short on tal ent, but there is no doubt that Guler is a gamechanger. He and several other squad members were not even born in 2002 when Turkiye made their run

Senol Gunes. Yet Turkiye’s qualifica tion campaign also exposed familiar weaknesses. A 6-0 home defeat by European cham pions Spain in Konya last September was a

decades. Turkiye impressed at

times during Euro 2024 with their aggressive pressing and technical quality, but they also relied heavily on moments of individual brilliance and rode their luck in several matches. Turkiye are in Group

Vincenzo Montella