Keystone
The Australian national team, which got off to a poor start in the World Cup qualifiers, has a new coach. Tony Popovic is to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The 51-year-old played as a central defender for Australia between 1995 and 2006 and took part in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. As a coach, he was mainly active in the Australian league alongside two brief stints in Turkey and Greece.
Popovic replaces Graham Arnold, who has coached the national team since 2018 and led them to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He stepped down in September after Australia started the World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 defeat against Bahrain and a 0-0 draw against Indonesia.