Australia coach Tony Popovic [Source: Reuters]

Australia coach Tony Popovic named six uncapped players, including three central defenders, in his 26-man squad for this month’s crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia and China on Friday.

The Socceroos need to beat the Indonesians in Sydney next Thursday and China in Hangzhou five days later to stay in the hunt for the second automatic ticket to the finals from Group C behind runaway leaders Japan.

With regular centre backs Harry Souttar and Hayden Matthews sidelined for the season with injuries, Popovic has brought in Kai Trewin, Alex Grant and Nectarios Triantis.

Goalkeeper Mat Ryan is likely to start what will be his 97th and 98th internationals but a hip injury has sidelined his usual backup Joe Gauci, giving another opportunity to uncapped custodians Paul Izzo and Tom Glover.

A-League-based Ryan Teague is the other uncapped player in the squad and he will contend with Aiden O’Neill for the holding midfielder role, although Triantis also plays in the position at his Scottish club Hibernian.

Up front, 31-year-old striker Adam Taggart gets a recall but there was no place in the squad for his fellow veteran Mitch Duke or standout teenager Nestory Irankunda.

Popovic, who took over late last year after the Socceroos made a poor start to the third round of Asian qualifying under Graham Arnold, was under no illusions how important the matches were for hopes of sealing an automatic ticket to the finals.

“It was a whirlwind start to the beginning of my tenure with the national team, and since November we’ve had the chance to review and assess all facets of our programme ahead of these qualifiers,” he said.

“We understand the importance of these upcoming games and are excited by the opportunity to further cement our position in the group’s automatic qualifying positions.”

Australia are second in Group C, nine points behind Japan and one in front of Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China with four games remaining in the campaign.

If Australia do miss out on an automatic spot, they could still qualify for a sixth successive finals through a fourth round of qualifying and intercontinental playoffs.

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