Timnas Australia Menguji Skuad Final Melawan Meksiko Jelang Piala Dunia

Tim nasional Australia akan menghadapi Meksiko dalam pertandingan persahabatan internasional di Stadion Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, pada Sabtu, 30 Mei 2026, sebagai persiapan menjelang Piala Dunia 2026.

Pertandingan ini menjadi kesempatan terakhir bagi para pemain Socceroos untuk meyakinkan pelatih kepala Tony Popovic sebelum pengumuman skuad final berisi 26 pemain yang dijadwalkan pada 1 Juni 2026.

Sebanyak 30 pemain saat ini tergabung dalam pemusatan latihan di Sarasota, Florida, termasuk nama baru seperti Tete Yengi, Cristian Volpato, Lucas Herrington, dan Paul Okon-Engstler, serta kembalinya Mat Ryan dan Alessandro Circati.

"We took the difficult route when we qualified in June to try and expand the group as big as we could," kata Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Popovic menjelaskan bahwa keputusan sadar diambil pada setiap laga persahabatan untuk memberi kesempatan dan menguji para pemain daripada menunggu hingga Piala Dunia usai, yang kini memperluas pilihan skuadnya.

"That was a conscious decision we made with every friendly game to expose players, to test players, not wait until after the World Cup. That's made the group larger, which is a great headache for us to have. It won't be pleasant when you've got to tell players that they haven't made the squad, but it's a wonderful headache, because we see that the pool is getting bigger," ujar Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa kemunculan para pemain muda seperti Lucas Herrington, baik untuk saat ini maupun masa depan, merupakan hal yang menyenangkan.

"When you look at these young boys like Lucas Herrington coming through, whether it's now or in the future, that should be exciting," kata Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Popovic memastikan bahwa seluruh anggota skuad yang berjumlah 30 pemain berada dalam kondisi bugar dan siap bertanding melawan Meksiko setelah mencatatkan hasil positif pada FIFA Series 2026 melawan Kamerun dan Curacao di bulan Maret.

"We know what we want to see in the process and preparation we are doing," ujar Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Pihak kepelatihan merasa sangat puas dengan kemajuan tim dan berharap para pemain kembali ke klub dengan kepercayaan diri tinggi serta berada dalam kondisi sehat saat pemilihan skuad di bulan Juni.

"Winning is always great, and winning gives more confidence and more belief, but overall we wanted to see certain things on the park, expose some players, try some new players," kata Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Popovic menambahkan bahwa para pemain telah bergabung dalam waktu yang bervariasi selama tiga minggu terakhir untuk mematangkan permainan sebelum menghadapi lawan tangguh.

"We are very happy with the progress, and the wins are fantastic. Everyone should go back to their clubs confident... and have as many players available and healthy for selection come June 1," ujar Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Menurut Popovic, menghadapi negara tuan rumah seperti Meksiko di hadapan lebih dari 70.000 penonton akan membuat atmosfer Piala Dunia terasa sangat nyata.

"Playing the host a nation, Mexico, 70,000 plus people... It will really feel like we're here for the World Cup now. We've had players in at various times in the last three weeks. We're working on our game, we're delighted we have such a top opponent to showcase ourselves tomorrow and see how we have progressed so far, and what room we still have left to improve before we play Turkey. Players are fit, so everyone that's here is fit, and I look forward to seeing what the boys can do tomorrow," kata Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Keputusan untuk mengadakan pemusatan latihan lebih awal dan menentukan 26 pemain di saat-saat terakhir merupakan bagian dari perencanaan jangka panjang tim.

"We chose a path that we felt will help us in terms of having a training camp early, and then deciding late in terms of the 26 players that will go towards the World Cup. That's something that we decided a long time ago in our planning, we're comfortable with that. It's never nice for a coach in terms of what's coming up in telling some players that they won't be here, but that's when we started the journey and the process. We knew that we would come to this point, and the more players that we could bring into our squad, into our environment, we believe that we can make the squad better. Now we also have another player that's coming in very late that also gives us an opportunity to improve the squad and make it stronger, so I'm happy with the process we have. I'm really looking forward to the game tomorrow. I can't wait for the match, and then we need to make some decisions, and then we go to our base camp," ujar Tony Popovic, Pelatih Kepala Australia.

Bek Australia Harry Souttar turut menyatakan antusiasmenya menjelang pertandingan melawan Meksiko yang dinilainya membuat atmosfer turnamen semakin dekat.

"It's just a really exciting time. I'm really looking forward to the game tomorrow, and it just makes it feel a little bit more real, a little bit more closer to the squad getting announced, and these two friendly games coming up against two really tough opponents. I think it's just one that we're all," kata Harry Souttar, Pemain Australia.

Meksiko yang berada di peringkat 15 dunia kini dilatih oleh Javier Aguirre dan mengandalkan penyerang Fulham Raúl Jiménez serta pemain muda Armando González menjelang laga di Rose Bowl ini.