Predicting the Socceroos' 2026 World Cup squad

DOHA, Qatar -- One eye on the Asian Cup, two eyes on the World Cup. That's how Australia coach Graham Arnold described his thought process in picking his 26-player squad for the 2023 Asian Cup, a unit that would ultimately see their campaign end at the hands of South Korea in the quarterfinals.

As is Arnold's tradition, it was a phrase he repeated early and often. But unfortunately for him, it also only appears to have achieved a level of cut through with the public after his side's exit, as frustrations were high in the wake of his third successive quarterfinal continental exit as boss of Australia, and after a series of performances in which the side struggled to operate under the weight of favouritism -- a challenge confronting many of Asia's old guard.

As ever, the Socceroos brought a defensively sound outfit to Doha, conceding just a single goal from open play and just three overall. Being stout is never a bad thing and opposition coaches would routinely praise the defence of the Socceroos when describing Asia's best. But this was paired with an attack that consistently struggled to create chances. A lot of anvil, but not a lot of hammer.

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There was a combined one shot on target in group games against Syria and Uzbekistan and it took 80 minutes to eventually wear away Indonesia in the round of 16. It was only in the familiar embrace of the underdog role, with just 26% possession and a game plan built on absorbing blows from a well-credentialed opponent in South Korea did the Socceroos begin to look, paradoxically, comfortable. And even then, their late retreat to defend a lead was penetrated in the 96th minute, and there was little scope to regather and adjust.

But with the Asian Cup now over, Arnold's talk of having two eyes on the World Cup brings that road, which continues against Lebanon next month, into sharp focus. But who will be there?

There are limits to what one can project this far out from the World Cup, with a full two-and-a-half years still to go until the first ball is kicked at the tournament hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Not only do we have Arnold's projections that several veteran figures in the national setup may soon begin to transition away, but we have evidence of his previous cycle to go off.

Of the 23-player squad that featured for Arnold at the 2019 Asian Cup, 14 weren't there three-and-a-half years later when the Socceroos headed to Doha, while 17 of the 31-player squad that resumed World Cup qualifying in June 2021 weren't a part of the 2022 World Cup squad.

Within that World Cup unit, 10 players possessed five or fewer caps at the time of the squad announcement and a further two, Craig Goodwin and Harry Souttar, had only just brought up their 10th.

In other words, it's probably almost impossible to say with any kind of certainty what the make-up of Australia's squad come June 2026 will be. Some players will retire, some players will get injured and others will simply drop off in form. Other players will emerge, young ones, late developers who find a way to put things all together or, based on trends under Arnold, possibly someone who discovers some relative with ties Down Under and who develops a sudden strong affinity for. "Aussie DNA."

With that in mind, this depth chart piece looks a little different from the standard fare. Rather than try to make the best estimation of what the 2026 squad will look like, this piece instead breaks each position down into various categories. There are best odds for obvious frontrunners, players that will be in their primes, youngsters looking to bolt from the blue, and veterans looking to battle time.

Note that only players who have publicly pledged their senior allegiance to the Socceroos or been recently capped by Australia at a senior or junior level were considered for this depth chart, meaning that players like Noa Skoko, Liam Chipperfield and Cristian Volpato are not included.

And yes, everything written below operates on the assumption that Australia qualifies for the 2026 World Cup. If they can't, then they've got bigger problems than any presuppositions in depth chart articles.

GOALKEEPER