Eight years after his Subway Socceroos debut, Jason Geria is back in the international fold – and it’s his former Melbourne Victory boss Tony Popovic who opened the door for his Green and Gold comeback.
The Victory full-back has received a long-awaited recall to the international setup, selected in Popovic’s extended 26-player squad for October’s two 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.
Popovic took over as Socceroos head coach in September after Graham Arnold’s resignation and the first squad selection of his tenure has a distinct Victory flavour, with Geria one of four of Popovic’s 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League squad members called up for the October window.
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Popovic and Geria spent three seasons together at Victory between 2021 and 2024.
Geria is joined by Victory teammates Daniel Arzani and Nishan Velupillay in the squad, as well as former Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo who was a Finals Series star for the club en route to the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final.
A Socceroos recall has been a long time coming for Geria. His first call-up in March, 2016 was under Ange Postecoglou during the right-back’s first stint at Victory, and his international debut came in June of the same year in a 1-0 friendly win over Greece in Sydney.
At the time of his debut, Geria – then 23 – said “I’m doing all I can to stake a claim” for a regular role in the Socceroos squad but in the eight years that followed, the full-back has not received an opportunity to add to his one international cap – until now.
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After confirming his 26-player squad for the upcoming international window, Popovic said in the case of both Geria and Velupillay, who received his first senior international call-up, the combination of injuries to regular squad members and Victory’s run to the Australia Cup final were key factors in their respective inclusions.
“Obviously I’ve got a history with them, I know them very well,” Popovic said.
“They’ve had a very good, long cup run so they’ve played regularly, they’re playing well. There are some areas on the pitch (where) we have some unfortunate injuries, and it creates opportunities for players.
“I felt Jason and Nishan deserved that opportunity.”
Geria adds much-needed defensive cover to a Socceroos squad lacking promising defender Alessandro Circati who suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in late September, while right-back Ryan Strain remains sidelined after undergoing hamstring surgery in August.
For Arzani and Velupillay, meanwhile, attacking opportunities have presented in the absence of Adam Taggart, Kusini Yengi, Martin Boyle and Awer Mabil.
The Socceroos take on China at Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 10 (kick-off 7:30pm local/8pm AEDT) and Japan at Saitama Stadium 2002, Tokyo on Tuesday, 15 October (7.35pm local/9.35pm AEDT).
Geria, Velupillay, Arzani and Melbourne City full-back Aziz Behich will then return to their respective Isuzu UTE A-League clubs ahead of the first round of the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season, which kicks off on Friday, October 18.
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