Mitch Duke has done all he can to show Socceroos coach Tony Popovic he still has it. Craig Goodwin might yet make one last push. Aziz Behich appears to have one foot on the plane. Heroes of World Cup campaigns past, all are now plying their trade in Australia and hoping to go around one more time.
But the search for a last-minute World Cup bolter has unearthed a name less familiar. Marcus Younis has lit up the A-League Men since arriving on loan from Danish club Brondby in January, scoring seven goals and laying on three assists for Melbourne City in just 11 matches.
Daniel Arzani in 2018 and Garang Kuol in 2022 both made Socceroos World Cup squads as teenagers thanks to irresistible A-League form. Younis may be 20 but, like that duo, he has come from nowhere to put himself into calculations.
“Marcus Younis has been exceptional for us since his arrival in January,” City coach Aurelio Vidmar said. “The number of goals and assists he’s made and created, and his form, have been very good.”
All the speculation will be for nought, however, unless he can prove himself in the pressure of the A-League Men finals this weekend. Younis and his City teammates will face the toughest test the competition can throw up: an elimination final against mighty Auckland on Saturday.
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City goalkeeper Patrick Beach and left-back Aziz Behich already look likely to be included in Popovic’s squad. “Aziz, who’s certainly in the mix, has been our Scott Jamieson award winner this year and been extremely consistent,” Vidmar said. But the tournament may come too soon for Mat Leckie – the hero from the Socceroos’ win over Denmark in Qatar – and Andrew Nabbout, who are still working their way back from injury.
“Leckie, as valuable as he is, he’s only just had the last two or three weeks off the bench, so he’s trying to pick up some minutes,” Vidmar said, adding Nabbout is in a similar place. “All these guys are capable, absolutely, but you need to be playing consistently at your club level to be considered.”
Duke has at least done that much. The target man came from Japan to Macarthur in December and has scored five times, including a brace against the eventual premiers Newcastle Jets. Even at 35, he remains an option for Popovic as a powerful presence, and few forget his goal against Tunisia in 2022. “I really do believe he deserves the spot,” Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski told AAP this week. “He’s a different profile to what the Socceroos are like. Whether he starts or whether he comes off the bench, I feel like he’s got something different.”
Duke – who hasn’t played for the Socceroos since October – will be watching the finals this weekend after the Bulls finished seventh. As will Popovic, given the tantalising showdown between Socceroos aspirants that highlights the second elimination final.
Sydney FC’s visit to AAMI Park for the clash against Melbourne Victory pits the Sky Blues’ Paul Okon-Engstler, who has muscled his way into recent Socceroos squads, against a talented Victory midfield. It contains six cap-Socceroo Denis Genreau – who, after a solid campaign back in Australia, said this week he hasn’t given up hope of making the trip to North America – as well as emerging pair Louis D’Arrigo and Jordi Valadon.
Victory coach Arthur Diles described Okon-Engstler as “a fantastic young footballer” who will be a formidable opponent for him and his players on Saturday. “It’s a competition for Denis to stand up, and whoever plays in the midfield, whether it’s Louis, whether it’s Valadon,” he said.
“Valadon’s a fantastic footballer, I don’t see why his name should never be far away from Socceroos conversations. He’s shown in the last two seasons that he’s a big young talent in this country.”
A-League Men premiers Newcastle and runners-up Adelaide United are similarly fuelled by Australian talent. At the Reds alongside Goodwin, who has just returned from a groin injury, is a cadre of capable young Australians such as Ethan Alagich and Jonny Yull.
Few would begrudge Popovic taking a closer look at the premiership-winning Jets, such as wingers Eli Adams and Clayton Taylor, veteran Max Burgess, or Joel Bertolissio, who could help fill the Socceroos’ hole at right-back left by the injured Lewis Miller.
But while those players rest this weekend, the focus shifts to others like the Victory’s Nishan Velupillay, who was part of the Socceroos’ last squad that hosted Cameroon and Curaçao. Diles is an unashamed advocate for his players, and hopes when Popovic names his World Cup squad on 1 June it will have a “sprinkling” of Victory players.
“In the end, I think Tony’s got a massive headache ahead of him,” he said. “It’s a pleasing headache, one that he would love, because there’s so many good players out there at the moment.”
