Socceroos’ World Cup squad revealed as Tony Popovic rolls dice with two uncapped strikers

The Socceroos have named two uncapped attackers in their World Cup squad for this month’s World Cup, as coach Tony Popovic rolls the dice in a bid to find an attacking spark. Winger Cristian Volpato, the former Italy youth international, has been rushed into the squad after the paperwork allowing his change of allegiance was only completed in the past week. Towering striker Tete Yengi has also won a place after a strong year with Japanese club Machida Zelvia. Coach Tony Popovic said selecting 26 players was not easy. “A range of factors has gone into selecting this final World Cup squad. Some difficult decisions had to be made – that’s the nature of major tournaments,” Popovic said. “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. Popovic had to cut four players from his training squad to meet the 26-player limit. The unfortunate four are goalkeeper Joe Gauci, defender Kye Rowles and forwards Brandon Borrello and Martin Boyle. The omission of Boyle compounds the Socceroos heartbreak for the Scottish-born attacker, who missed the 2022 World Cup through injury. Rowles was another who was unfortunate in selection. The 27-year-old played every match in Qatar four years ago alongside Harry Souttar in defence. “I’d like to acknowledge the players who contributed to our direct World Cup qualification but are not part of this squad. …