Tony Popovic said the door would stay open for late bolters. He meant it. Two English-based youngsters — QPR forward Daniel Bennie and Wigan Athletic's Raphael Borges Rodrigues — have been called into the Socceroos' pre-World Cup camp in Florida, joining a second wave of players heading Stateside this week.
Bennie, 21, qualifies for Australia, Scotland, and Hong Kong, and has played 17 of QPR's last 20 Championship games since making his debut in January. He's scored once — a first senior goal against Hull that his own coach admitted looked like it belonged in a training drill. "He has scored like this during training sessions," said QPR boss Julien Stephan. "Now you are able to do that as well during the game." One goal in senior football is a thin resume, but Popovic is clearly betting on trajectory over history.
Borges Rodrigues, 22, brings a different profile. Born in Maastricht to former Adelaide United striker Cristiano, raised in Australia, developed at Melbourne City, now logging 37 appearances at Wigan Athletic in League One. Popovic wants wing-back depth, and the kid has been used there all season. The logic is straightforward.
Toure's form, Irvine's survival fight, and a Yazbek scare
While the new faces are exciting, Mo Toure is the Socceroos player in the form of his life. Twelve goal contributions in his first 11 Championship appearances since arriving from Denmark in January — numbers that have him in the running for the division's April player of the month award. "It's actually been crazy; it's wild as well, nothing I expected," he told local media. That kind of output from a striker heading into a World Cup transforms Australia's attacking options. Toure is no longer a wildcard; he's a selection certainty.
Captain Jackson Irvine has no such luxury of enjoying the moment. St Pauli sit second from bottom in the Bundesliga after a 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig — their third straight defeat — and now face Wolfsburg in a do-or-die final-day clash at the Millerntor. Both clubs are level on 26 points. Irvine played the full 90 against Leipzig. One game between him and the Bundesliga trapdoor, a week out from World Cup preparations ramping up.
Patrick Yazbek's situation is murkier. The Nashville SC midfielder has a quad injury and won't return to club football before the World Cup break. His coach had no timetable. That's not ideal for a player who needs to be sharp heading into Australia's Group D opener against the United States.
Neymar slaps a teammate, then scores a worldie
Because it's Neymar, the week came with both a standing ovation and an internal investigation. Days after Santos opened a probe into an altercation where Neymar reportedly slapped 18-year-old Robinho Júnior — son of the former Brazil star — in training, the 34-year-old went out and inspired a 2-0 win over Red Bull Bragantino that ended a seven-game winless streak.
The training incident was apparently triggered by the teenager dribbling past Neymar, which the veteran apparently found disrespectful. "I crossed the line," Neymar acknowledged publicly. Robinho Júnior accepted the apology — "He's been my idol since childhood" — and the pair were pictured embracing during Neymar's goal celebration. Drama resolved. Or at least shelved.
Neymar hasn't played for Brazil since October 2023. Carlo Ancelotti included him in a 55-player preliminary list anyway. One strong performance won't force Ancelotti's hand, but it keeps the conversation alive. Brazil bettors have been here before with Neymar — the question is never whether the talent exists, but whether the body holds.
Pulisic's form problem is getting harder to ignore
Christian Pulisic is on the cover of Time Magazine as "the most influential American men's soccer player in the country's 250-year history." He has also gone 17 club games without a goal in 2025 and missed AC Milan's weekend loss to Atalanta with a glute injury. The gap between the narrative and the reality has rarely been wider.
The United States host this World Cup and open Group D against the Socceroos, Paraguay, and Türkiye. Everything about the tournament setup should suit a player of Pulisic's profile — home crowd, favorable group, genuine expectation. Instead, his odds of arriving in top form are shortening by the week.
Weston McKennie has quietly had one of the best seasons of his career at Juventus and is looking like the more reliable option in Mauricio Pochettino's midfield. "I feel like I'm a player that thrives under pressure," McKennie said this week. Pulisic may need him to be right about that.
Elsewhere, Iran has confirmed participation at the tournament but wants visa guarantees for players who completed mandatory military service through the Revolutionary Guard — including captain Mehdi Taremi. And a new injury trend is casting a shadow over the build-up: pubalgia, the groin-pelvic condition that has affected Cole Palmer, Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Argentine teen Franco Mastantuono. Palmer described months of being unable to shoot or pass without pain. Yamal had a procedure late last year. The tournament hasn't started and its best young players are already managing their bodies like veterans.
