Central Coast Mariners defender Diesel Herrington is one of three first-time call-ups to Tony Popovic’s Socceroos squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Qatar and Jordan.
After an impressive start to the 2026/27 A-League Men which saw club coach John Hutchinson label him the ‘number one defender in the league’, centre back Herrington not only joins brother Lucas in the squad, but also first time selections Thomas Waddingham, of English side Portsmouth, and former Brisbane Roar midfielder Sam Klein, now at St Pauli.
Fresh off helping Melbourne City secure a 2-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, City captain Aziz Behich is once again included in the squad, which was named late on Saturday night.
Football Australia will continue to assess security ahead of the Socceroos’ planned friendly against Jordan in Amman.
The Socceroos first face Qatar in Doha on November 14 before then travelling to Amman.
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Those games were initially meant to serve as preparation for the Asian Cup which has since been pushed back from January to December 2027 due to security concerns in host country Saudi Arabia.
“For the match against Jordan, we will continue to assess the security environment and provide players and staff with timely, comprehensive updates, including relevant safety advice and risk assessments,” FA chief executive Martin Kugeler said in a statement.
“The safety and wellbeing of our players and staff remains our highest priority.”
Professional Footballers Australia (the PFA) on Friday said players had “overwhelmingly expressed their view that the Jordan match should be rescheduled or relocated”.
Socceroos Captain Maty Ryan and fellow veterans Jackson Irvine and Milos Degenek, plus midfielder Aiden O’Neill, are the most prominent omissions from coach the squad, which includes seven uncapped players.
It is unclear whether those players made themselves unavailable for safety reasons.
As yet, there has been no movement on the Amman fixture, despite Indonesia recently cancelling their own planned friendly in Jordan.
There are eight changes to the squad from September’s friendlies against Brazil in Australia.
Attacker Daniel Arzani returns after finding form at Ferencvaros, along with defender Gianni Stensness (Viking FK), who scored against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Striker Kusini Yengi joins brother Tete, while goalkeepers Joe Gauci (Lincoln City) and Tom Glover (RB Omiya Ardija) have been recalled.
“While the Asian Cup has been rescheduled, that does not take away from the importance of this window,” Popovic said in a statement.
“We have limited opportunities to be together as a group, so every camp and every game is important.
“We will have an eye on continuing to evolve the squad for the future, with our World Cup 2030 qualifying campaign and the Asian Cup both now in the second half of 2027.
“This camp gives us another chance to work with new players and see how they fit into what we are building.”
SOCCEROOS SQUAD
* denotes uncapped player
Goalkeepers: Patrick Beach, Joe Gauci, Tom Glover*
Defenders: Kealey Adamson*, Aziz Behich, Kasey Bos*, Alessandro Circati, Jason Geria, Diesel Herrington*, Lucas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Harry Souttar
Midfielders: Sam Klein*, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Paul Okon-Engstler, Gianni Stensness, Patrick Yazbek
Forwards: Eli Adams*, Daniel Arzani, Nestory Irankunda, Thomas Waddingham*, Kusini Yengi, Tete Yengi, Marcus Younis
Qatar v Socceroos
Date: Friday, 13 November 2026
Venue: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: 5:45pm local / 1:45am AEDT (Saturday, 14 November)
Broadcast: Paramount+
Jordan v Socceroos
Date: Tuesday, 17 November 2026
Venue: Amman International Stadium, Amman
Kick-off: 7:00pm local / 3:00am AEDT (Wednesday, 18 November)
Broadcast: Paramount+
