Maty Ryan has been left out of the Socceroos squad altogether for Australia’s upcoming friendlies against Brazil, with coach Tony Popovic calling up seven uncapped players for the team’s first matches since the World Cup.
The omission of the captain is the headline decision in a 26-man squad that otherwise points towards renewal. Ryan, 34, lost his starting place to young goalkeeper Patrick Beach at the World Cup and was then brought on as a substitute for the round-of-32 penalty shootout against Egypt. He said afterwards that he had only been told he might replace Beach as extra time kicked off, while Popovic has since insisted Ryan knew before the match that it was a possibility.
Form does not appear to explain the call. Ryan has made a strong start to the La Liga season with Levante, which makes his absence from the group a notable one. His place goes to uncapped St Mirren goalkeeper Jacob Chapman, who joins Beach and Paul Izzo among the goalkeepers.
Chapman is one of seven uncapped players in the squad. Untried left-back Kasey Bos, the younger brother of injured star Jordan Bos, has been called up for another camp, along with fellow uncapped defender Dylan Leonard, 19. Former A-League players Marcus Younis, now at Brondby IF, and Eli Adams of Gamba Osaka earn maiden call-ups, as do Kealey Adamson of QPR and Yaya Dukuly of NK Celje.
Sixteen players from the 26-man World Cup squad return. Star left-back Jordan Bos is unavailable with a knee problem and central defender Cam Burgess is out with an achilles injury, while Cristian Volpato is sidelined with a hamstring issue. Popovic will also speak publicly for the first time since the Sassuolo attacker was fined last week for driving with cocaine in his system in July. Volpato has maintained his innocence and will challenge the charges in court.
Riley McGree and Patrick Yazbek return after missing the World Cup through injury, and Alex Robertson has been recalled. Cameron Devlin, Nishan Velupillay, Mathew Leckie, Ajdin Hrustic, Kai Trewin and Awer Mabil have been omitted. Aziz Behich is the only A-League Men player in the squad.
“We are looking forward to coming together for the first time since the Fifa World Cup 2026,” Popovic said in a statement. “We have picked a squad with an eye on the Asian Cup and an eye on the future, and it’s a great opportunity for us to continue growing as a team. We are also very excited to be playing at home for the first time since March in what are two crucial matches for us, against Brazil, the most successful team in Fifa World Cup history. We will only have two camps and four matches before we select our Asian Cup squad, so these matches are critical for us in preparation for our next major tournament.”
Australia play in Brisbane on 25 September and in Townsville on 28 September.
The squad in full. Goalkeepers: Patrick Beach, Jacob Chapman, Paul Izzo. Defenders: Kealey Adamson, Aziz Behich, Kasey Bos, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Dylan Leonard, Harry Souttar. Midfielders: Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Alexander Robertson, Patrick Yazbek. Forwards: Eli Adams, Yaya Dukuly, Nestory Irankunda, Mohamed Toure, Tete Yengi, Marcus Younis.