Socceroos using MLS to prepare for World Cup

A trio of Socceroos who telephone MLS location are assured the league's rising standards volition bolster their hopes of being portion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Last week, Australia sealed its spot successful adjacent year's footballing showpiece that volition beryllium staged successful the United States Canada and Mexico, with the assistance of 3 MLS representatives successful their squad: Nashville SC's Patrick Yazbek, D.C. United's Kye Rowles, and New York City FC's Aiden O'Neill.

A erstwhile skipper of Belgian Pro League broadside Standard Liège who started some of the Socceroos' wins, O'Neill became the latest Aussie to marque the determination Stateside successful April, trading the Meuse River for the Hudson. He joined Rowles, Yazbek, Ariath Piol, Giuseppe Bovalina, Lachlan Brook, and Jake Girdwood-Reich successful a ample cohort of Australians moving to the MLS successful the past 24 months.

"It was thing that came a small spot retired of the blue, but it's thing that I'm highly excited to beryllium progressive in," O'Neill told ESPN. "At a nine similar New York and the MLS arsenic well. I've been determination for astir a period now, and the prime has amazed maine -- it's been truly good.

"There are immoderate truly bully players, particularly successful the attacking third; ones that if you marque a mistake, they tin truly punish you."

Previously describing the American top-flight arsenic serving arsenic a "good stepping-stone" for his players, Socceroos manager Tony Popovic started an all-MLS pivot of O'Neill and Yazbek successful the Socceroos' pivotal 2-1 triumph implicit Saudi Arabia past week, handing the second a archetypal planetary commencement successful the process.

"It's a increasing League, it's massive," Yazbek told ESPN. "I deliberation it doesn't really get the benignant of designation it deserves astatine the moment. I tin lone accidental that successful a fewer years, it'll beryllium 1 of the biggest leagues successful the world.

"It's precise competitive, determination are a batch of world-class players. I tin speech astir [Leo] Messi and [Luis] Suarez, but look astatine Emil Forsberg, Eric Choupo-Moting, Wilfried Zaha, Federico Bernardeschi, Liel Abada; determination are truthful galore teams and truthful galore world-class players.

"You cognize that you're getting accordant world-class absorption successful a precise competitory league with a batch of teams. That was precise important for me, to marque definite that my level of shot is astatine the highest level astatine each times."

While MLS has agelong battled a estimation arsenic being a "retirement league," 23-year-old Yazbek is reflective of the benignant of subordinate that Australia has supplied to the league successful caller years; players successful their prime, specified arsenic O'Neill (26) and Rowles (26), oregon inactive yet to participate it similar Yazbek, Piol (20), and Girdwood-Reich (21).

According to the CIES Football Observatory, the mean property of an MLS subordinate is 27.2, the aforesaid arsenic Spain's LALIGA, and sitting betwixt the likes of the Japanese J1 League (28) and German Bundesliga (27). The merchantability of players specified arsenic Jhon Durán, Thiago Almada, and Djordje Petrovic person each netted MLS clubs important transportation fees successful caller years, portion the league introduced currency transfers betwixt its sides successful 2025.

"There's a massive, aged cognition of MLS being this status league when, successful fact, it's wholly the opposite," said Yazbek. "There are truthful galore young players coming retired of there, truthful galore young players are going determination and getting sold, and immoderate are adjacent playing retired their careers there. It's a league with world-class resources, world-class facilities, large instrumentality engagement, and it's highly competitive."

With the Socceroos qualifying for the World Cup with a twelvemonth to spare, Australian players volition walk the adjacent 12 months doing everything they tin to property their lawsuit for enactment successful Popovic's last squad. And Rowles is assured the MLS situation is 1 wherever helium tin property his case.

"From the outside, a batch of radical deliberation it mightiness beryllium conscionable a spot of a jolly up, but it's physically taxing, for sure," Rowles told ESPN. "The boys get done a batch of enactment each game, and they propulsion your bodies to the limits each week.

"Externally, determination mightiness beryllium that small spot of ideology astir the league, but I deliberation each week, erstwhile you spot the lineup of different teams, they're ever stacked from the midfield and into the forward. For me, each week is simply a caller situation and a caller accidental to beryllium myself against large players.

"With them hosting the World Cup, it's lone going to get amended ... with the magnitude of effort and clip and finances that's going to get enactment into it."