Popovic says Socceroos squad is 'fearless' and 'much better' than 2022

[p]Popovic's 26-man squad features 17 World Cup debutants, ‌including two uncapped players in Japan-based striker Tete [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yengi-kusini/SrcFKJ6h/"]Yengi[/a], 25, and 22-year-old attacker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/volpato-cristian/2B5YqXFG/"]Cristian Volpato[/a], ‌who only switched allegiance from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a] to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] in recent days.[/p][p]There ‌are 11 players who have earned fewer than 10 caps, including 18-year-old defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/herrington-lucas/4ApZ8wCi/"]‌Lucas Herrington[/a] and 22-year-old striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/toure-mohamed/SfbYnjVB/"]Mohamed Toure[/a].[/p][p]At Qatar in 2022, Graham Arnold's ‌squad reached the last 16 after they became the first Australian side to win multiple matches at a World Cup.[/p][p]Popovic told reporters on Monday he wanted his players ‌to have high expectations of themselves despite their ⁠relative inexperience.[/p][embed guid="04ef4753-ea20-466d-85e4-a251d11ee0c7" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PjihGYPF3o" social-type="youtube" /][p]"[b]We weren't poor players four ‌years earlier. We were very good players,[/b]" Popovic said.[/p][p]"We were a great group. Four ​years later, we're much better, so these boys will be good now.[/p][p]"[b]I don't want to dampen anyone's expectations. It is a ​young squad.[/b][/p][p]"Will they be better in four and eight years? Without a doubt.[/p][p]"[b]But that's not to say they're not good enough now. If they ⁠weren't, I wouldn't play them[/b]."[/p][p]Yengi, ​the younger brother of Socceroos striker Kusini Yengi, was a late call-up to the pre-tournament camp in Florida, while Volpato joined the squad in California at the weekend.[/p][p]Neither played in Australia's 1-0 friendly loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mexico/O6iHcNkd/"]Mexico[/a] at the ‌Rose Bowl on Saturday.[/p][p]Popovic said hulking 1.97m forward Yengi, who plays for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/machida-zelvia/CUSC1dab/"]Machida Zelvia[/a] in the Japanese top flight after being loaned out by Scottish side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/livingston/MoYV5dic/"]Livingston[/a], could add something different to the attack in terms of his size and presence.[/p][embed guid="ef43de7e-73c8-4e00-8936-ce5f1a773e14" url="https://x.com/Socceroos/status/2061183458882490827" social-type="twitter" /][p]Former Italy under-20 player Volpato turned down Arnold's invitation to join the Socceroos for Qatar but has been rewarded for his late decision to ditch Italy.[/p][p]"[b]He's a very talented player ... There's a lot of growth and potential still there, which pretty much sums up a ‌lot of our players at the moment,[/b]" said Popovic.[/p][p]Australia play their final ​warmup against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a] in San Diego on Saturday before launching their ‌World Cup campaign against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a] on June 13 in Vancouver. They also play co-hosts [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]United States[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a].[/p][p]"[b]What we have is a lot of young exuberance. A lot of exciting talent, which is the start of a new cycle,[/b]" said Popovic.[/p][p]"[b]I think they're fearless. We're trying ⁠to get that right mix ... ⁠but it should be a ‌very exciting group for the Australian public.[/b]"[/p]