After a long qualifying campaign that ended in a penalty shootout, the Socceroos are playing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
While the team may have qualified, some players really stood out in a team that stumbled in qualifying, and many of them were coming into the tournament under an injury cloud.
Coach Graham Arnold has made a point of giving opportunities to young players in recent years and this squad will be a mix of youth and experience in Qatar.
Unlike previous World Cups, the Socceroos were able to name a 26-man squad for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Australia’s 26-Man World Cup Squad Final
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold confirmed his World Cup squad on Tuesday 8 November.
Arnold was given permission to confirm the official preliminary list of 35-55 players by Friday, October 21, with FIFA submitting the final squads no later than November 14.
The Socceroos had not played any friendlies prior to the World Cup, so team selection came down to recent club form and display during the qualifiers.
Teenage sensation Garang Kuol has made the cut with the young attacker set to join Newcastle United in January.
Some other notable names in the squad include former Premier League goalkeeper Matty Ryan, Sunderland defender Bailey Wright and Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy.
Among the missing players, Mitch Langrac, Trent Sainsbury, Tom Rogic and Adam Taggart are the biggest surprises.
Marco Tillio has joined the team in Doha after Martin Boyle was ruled out due to injury.
Here is Australia’s World Cup squad confirmed
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | 1 | Maty Ryan | FC Copenhagen (DEN) | 30 | 75 |
| GK | 12 | Andrew Redmayne | Sydney FC (AUS) | 33 | 3 |
| GK | 18 | Danny Vukovic | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 37 | 4 |
| DEF | 2 | Milos Degenek | Columbus Crew (USA) | 28 | 38 |
| DEF | 16 | Aziz Behich | Dundee United (SCO) | 31 | 53 |
| DEF | 24 | Joel King | OB (DAN) | 21 | 3 |
| DEF | 3 | Nathaniel Atkinson | Hearts (SCO) | 23 | 5 |
| DEF | 5 | Fran Karacic | Brescia (ITA) | 26 | 10 |
| DEF | 19 | Harry Souttar | Stoke City (ENG) | 23 | 10 |
| DEF | 4 | Kye Rowles | Hearts (SCO) | 24 | 3 |
| DEF | 8 | Bailey Wright | Sunderland (ENG) | 30 | 27 |
| DEF | 20 | Thomas Deng | Albirex Niigata (JAP) | 25 | 2 |
| MID | 13 | Aaron Mooy | Celtic (SCO) | 32 | 53 |
| MID | 22 | Jackson Irvine | St Pauli (GER) | 29 | 49 |
| MID | 10 | Ajdin Hrustic | Hellas Verona (ITA) | 26 | 20 |
| MID | 26 | Keanu Baccus | St Mirren (SCO | 29 | 53 |
| MID | 17 | Cameron Devlin | Hearts (SCO) | 24 | 1 |
| MID | 14 | Riley McGree | Middlesbrough (ENG) | 23 | 10 |
| FWD | 11 | Awer Mabil | Cadiz (SPA) | 27 | 29 |
| FWD | 7 | Mathew Leckie | Melbourne City (AUS) | 31 | 72 |
| FWD | 6 | Marco Tilio | Melbourne City (AUS) | 21 | 5 |
| FWD | 9 | Jamie Maclaren | Melbourne City (AUS) | 29 | 26 |
| FWD | 25 | Jason Cummings | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 27 | 1 |
| FWD | 15 | Mitchell Duke | Fagiano Okayama (JAP) | 31 | 20 |
| FWD | 21 | Garang Kuol | Central Coast Mariners (AUS) | 18 | 1 |
| FWD | 23 | Craig Goodwin | Adelaide United (AUS) | 30 | 10 |
Socceroos Stars, Strengths and Weaknesses
Australia has played 2022 mixed to date but is good enough to book their place in a fifth consecutive World Cup.
The Socceroos have failed to get out of their group since 2006 and will be hoping they can make further progress this year.
Stars
Scotland’s Aaron Mooy has been the most consistent performer in this Australian team.
Playmaker Azdin Hrustic has also shown glimpses of his star potential and is currently playing in Serie A with Hellas Verona – his ability to create will be key to igniting the Socceroos attack. But the recent injury has raised some doubts whether he will be able to play in the World Cup or not.
Kishore Garang Kuol is a rising star and will join Newcastle United in January after starring at club level in Australia.
POWERS
Australia has had some serious midfield talent over the past decade with no shortage of quality in this area of the park.
Defensively, the Socceroos are looking at a talented group of youngsters with Harry Souter and Kye Rowles emerging as real assets at the back for years to come.
WEAKNESS
Scoring a goal
Since Tim Cahill for Australia, no player has been able to reach third place in the final. In fact, the team will go to Qatar and the starting striker spot is still up in the air.
While the Socceroos have scored for fun in the early stages of World Cup qualifying, they have struggled to break down strong opposition in 2022, failing to score against Japan and Saudi Arabia.