Livingston striker Tete Yengi and former Italy Under-21 winger Cristian Volpato have been selected for Australia’s 26-man World Cup squad, despite both players being late inclusions to Tony Popovic’s preliminary training camp.
In a notable omission, 41-time capped Hibernian forward Martin Boyle failed to make the final cut.
Yengi, who was loaned from Livingston to Japanese side Machida Zelvia in January, earned his place after an impressive run of form. The 25-year-old netted six goals in 22 appearances, helping his new club secure a third-place finish in Japan’s East Region and a spot in the Asian Champions League final.
Additionally, FIFA officially ratified 22-year-old Sassuolo player Cristian Volpato’s decision to represent Australia on Friday.
Veterans Mat Ryan, currently with Levante, and Melbourne City’s Mathew Leckie are set to match the national record by appearing in their fourth World Cup. Meanwhile, Aziz Behich of Melbourne and St Pauli midfielder Jackson Irvine are poised to make their third tournament appearances.
Heart of Midlothian’s Cammy Devlin and Leicester City defender Harry Souttar are also earning their second World Cup selections. Other squad members include Swansea City’s Cameron Burgess, Watford winger Nestory Irankunda, and Norwich City striker Mohamed Toure.
Reflecting on the selection process, Popovic stated: “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.”
Former Hearts defender Kye Rowles, now playing for DC United, was also a late addition to the training squad but was ultimately left out of the final roster.
Australia will play a final warm-up friendly against Switzerland this Saturday before beginning their World Cup campaign against Turkey on June 14.