Tommy Oar and Daniel McBreen have expressed their surprise at Mitch Duke’s omission from the Socceroos’ World Cup squad.
As Vince Rugari, Tommy Oar, and Daniel McBreen discussed the list of players who were released from the Socceroos squad on this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, the panel identified the 35-year-old as a shock omission.
“I am a little bit surprised to see him drop out,” said Oar. “I thought he was going to be a shoo-in for this squad.”
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“I think he brings something very different … in terms of the last 10, 15 minutes of a game. If you want to go direct, (he’s a) real target-man, he throws himself about.”
Duke has played 50 matches for his country and scored 13 goals; none more important nor, incidentally, more recent than his header against Saudi Arabia in June of last year that secured Australia’s place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Earlier in that game, Duke drifted wide to the left and poked a gorgeous pass around the corner to set-up Connor Metcalfe’s opener.
The centre-forward made his debut for the Socceroos in 2013 but did not play another competitive match for his country for six years before breaking into the side that qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Duke played every match in Qatar and scored the winner in Australia’s 1-0 win over Tunisia in the group stage.
“He has a lot of experience in these big tournaments as well so I am surprised to see him drop out,” Oar said.
Beside him, McBreen was quick to agree with Oar on the value of Duke’s experience coming into an international tournament: “I think that’s the one, you really hit the nail on the head there: experience,” he said.
“We know what Dukey will give you and even if he’s not bang-in scoring form at the moment, you know that in a tournament you say: ‘Dukey, this is what we need from you,’ he’ll go and give it to you.”
The A-Leagues veteran has supposedly been dropped in favour of 25 year-old Tete Yengi, who has scored six goals in 22 appearances since joining Japanese side Machida Zelvia on loan from Livingston FC.
Head Coach Tony Popovic will name his final 26-man squad for the World Cup on June 1 ahead of the Socceroos’ final warm-up clash against Switzerland in San Diego.
The Socceroos kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Turkiye in Vancouver on June 13.
