Volpato squeezes Boyle out of Australia’s World Cup plans as Popovic finalises squad

San Francisco: Veteran forward Martin Boyle has become the heartbreak story of the Socceroos’ World Cup selection race, missing out along with three other players in coach Tony Popovic’s final 26-man squad.

Boyle, who was born and raised in Scotland but qualifies for Australia through family heritage, missed out on the last World Cup in 2022 due to a knee injury on the eve of the tournament.

Though he stayed on as the team’s “chief vibes officer” in Qatar, the 33-year-old had been hoping this year’s edition would be his first taste of on-field action at a World Cup, but it was not to be, with Boyle’s omission seemingly the consequence of Popovic’s decision to bring Cristian Volpato directly into the Socceroos’ squad.

Needing to cut four players from his training group of 30, Popovic also found no room for US-based defender Kye Rowles, Western Sydney Wanderers star Brandon Borrello and goalkeeper Joe Gauci.

None of those names come as a shock, but Rowles’ misfortune would have been difficult to envision four years ago.

The DC United centre-back started all four of Australia’s games at the last World Cup alongside Harry Souttar, but has been squeezed out by the emergence of other younger options in his position, in particular teenager Lucas Herrington – the youngest member of the squad at just 18.

Borrello suffered through a difficult A-League season with the Wanderers but had clearly done something in Australia’s pre-World Cup training camp to catch Popovic’s eye.

Ultimately, though, Popovic has opted to go with a different kind of striker, with the towering Tete Yengi – along with Volpato, who joined the team on Saturday morning (local time), the only uncapped players in the squad – preferred over him.

“A range of factors has gone into selecting this final World Cup squad,” Popovic said in a statement.

“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.

“I’d like to acknowledge the players who contributed to our direct World Cup qualification but are not part of this squad. Their contribution should not be forgotten.

“Our focus now shifts to finalising our preparations for the upcoming friendly against Switzerland and for our World Cup group matches.”

All up, there are 17 players in Australia’s squad who are World Cup first-timers, and two players in captain Maty Ryan and Mathew Leckie who will equal the record set by Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan by appearing at their fourth FIFA tournament.

Popovic is due to speak to Australian media in Oakland, where the Socceroos have relocated after their 1-0 friendly defeat to Mexico, at 11.15am AEST.

More to come