Socceroos boss excited to see ‘maturing’ starlet shine
Anna Harrington |
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is excited to see what a “maturing” Nestory Irankunda can now offer on the international stage after giving the teen sensation his first call-up in 10 months.
Irankunda’s hot start to life at Watford has delivered a recall for the Socceroos’ ‘Soccer Ashes’ friendlies against New Zealand in Canberra next Friday and Auckland three days later.
The 19-year-old headlines a youthful, next-generation squad, with Portsmouth breakout sensation Adrian Segecic and fellow young talents Noah Botic and Nicolas Milanovic also called up.
It is Irankunda’s first call-up under Popovic since playing China and Japan last October, having been overlooked for the past three windows as Australia sealed direct qualification for the World Cup.
Irankunda, who moved from Bayern Munich to English Championship club Watford over the off-season, has already notched an assist and a wonderful free kick goal.
“I had Nestory in camp with us in my first window in October. We haven’t had him since, so it’ll be nice to see him,” Popovic said in Canberra on Friday.
“And I think since that time, we’ve seen him probably mature as a player.
“He’s had a year in Europe, which is a great experience for a young player at Bayern Munich, which obviously shows the talent that he has.
“He got some game time at Grasshopper in Switzerland, and now we’re seeing him progress further at Watford.
“So we know he certainly has the talent, and he’s young, he’s still got the potential. He’s still maturing and getting better, and we hope to see him in two, three, four World Cups to come.
“So I’m excited to see where he’s at at the moment.”
Segecic’s call-up comes off scoring two goals in three Championship games for Pompey, along with notching an assist in the League Cup.
With direct World Cup qualification already secured, Popovic has licence to experiment and test new players in the first of four windows ahead of selecting his squad for the 2026 tournament.
Former A-League Men stars Botic (Austria Vienna), Milanovic (Aberdeen) and Segecic, plus surprise call-up Anthony Kalik (Hajduk Split) will all head into a senior camp for the first time.
Popovic was keen to balance “building continuity” with senior players while also seeing which younger players, who were being “rewarded” for continuing their good form overseas, could hit the level.
“We want to have a lot of depth going into the World Cup and we want to have selection headaches,” he said.
“That’s what we’re looking for, and I hope I have those come June.”
There are no players from the out-of-season A-League Men competition, including Aziz Behich, while several other experienced players have been left out or overlooked.
Jackson Irvine is still on the comeback trail from his foot injury, while skipper Mat Ryan has been left out after sealing his recent club move to Levante.
“He’s a guy that he’s very fit, looks after himself, but he hasn’t had that team training or pre season games,” Popovic said of Ryan.
“So we’re very happy that he’s found a club.
“I’m sure he’ll get back to training and playing very soon, and we look forward to getting back in camp, hopefully in the next window.”
Luckless playmaker Riley McGree is seemingly still sidelined while Japan-based Mitch Duke and Jason Geria have been overlooked.
Defender Jordan Bos, who recently moved to Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord, returns from injury.
Ajdin Hrustic has been called up after signing with Heracles Almelo and Sammy Silvera’s form as a wingback at Middlesborough has been rewarded.
Nectar Triantis, who recently registered a FIFA switch to Greece, has not been included, nor has veteran midfielder Massimo Luongo.
SOCCEROOS SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Joe Gauci, Tom Glover*, Paul Izzo*
Defenders: Jordan Bos*, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Fran Karacic, Hayden Matthews, Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Samuel Silvera
Midfielders: Max Balard*, Ajdin Hrustic, Anthony Kalik, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O’Neill; Ryan Teague, Patrick Yazbek
Attackers: Noah Botic*, Martin Boyle, Nestory Irankunda, Nicolas Milanovic, Adrian Segecic*; Mohamed Toure
* denotes debutant
AAP
