Key events
It is fitting the Socceroos are in the US for their pre-tournament friendlies because MLS has become a proving ground for Australian internationals. Jack Snape has more.
Lucas Herrington was once dubbed a “baby giraffe” for his gangly frame, but he has emerged as a genuine bolter for the Socceroos’ World Cup squad. While the 18-year-old’s rapid growth has been a shock, his increasing favour with coach Tony Popovic is more than a reflection of his quality as a footballer.
Now proving his potential against the likes of Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller in MLS, Herrington is proof of how Australian football has become reliant on the United States, in terms of both talent development and financial survival.
Today’s venue is one of the great stadiums of the world.
Raúl Vilchis explains how Mexico are looking inward to rekindle the spirit of 1986 as they prefer for their third World Cup hosting experience.
Mexico have played six times this year, but only half of those have come with their full-strength squad. Their Europe-based players were missing for their most recent match, last week’s 2-0 win over Ghana. But Ghana fielded a weakened team too, and their coach, Carlos Queiroz, didn’t even attend the game.
Fernández and others also believe there are deeper problems that can’t be fixed with a month of extra training sessions. The roots of these deficiencies lie in top-level decisions made since the team’s failure at Qatar 2022, when El Tri crashed out in the group stage, their worst finish at a World Cup in four decades. The insularity of Mexican soccer means young players often stay at home rather than gain valuable experience in the top European leagues. The decision to end promotion and relegation in Liga MX also means a lack of jeopardy that can sharpen players’ edges.
Jack Snape sets the scene from an Australian perspective, with Tony Popovic 90 minutes of action away from determining his World Cup 26.
The World Cup might have snuck up on many Australians, but the reality of the men’s football showpiece will leap out on Sunday, take hold of the nation and not let go for a month. The Socceroos play co-hosts Mexico in Los Angeles’ historic Rose Bowl in one of the marquee warm-up matches ahead of a tournament shared across North America that is now bursting with 48 teams.
The Mexico showdown serves as a challenge for Australia against elite, motivated opposition. But for a handful of Socceroos, this weekend is also a test to see whether or not they will be allowed to stay in the US. It won’t be visa issues that send them home, rather it will be coach Tony Popovic telling them they haven’t made his final cut.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of this World Cup warm-up match between Mexico and Australia. Kick-off at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is 7pm Saturday local time (12pm Sunday AEST).
Today’s fixture is the penultimate pre-World Cup friendly for both countries and the final opportunity for the two head coaches to run the rule over their charges before announcing their official 26-man squads.
El Tri open the 2026 World Cup in under a fortnight at the refurbished Azteca Stadium against South Africa. After today they have a further friendly against Serbia to fine tune their preparations.
The Socceroos have a midweek assignment against Switzerland, by which time Tony Popovic will have cut four members of his 30-strong tour party.
Until the eve of today’s contest that party was 29-strong but stocks have been bolstered by the decision of Sydney-born Italy-U21 representative Cristian Volpato to nominate for Australia. Unable to play today, his presence at the World Cup seems all-but assured.
There is plenty to get through before kick-off so I will be back shortly. In the meantime, please send me your emails on any thoughts around squad selections, this contest, or the World Cup in general. The address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@guardian.co.uk.