‘Not at their best’: Socceroos boss’ surprise Thomas Waddingham admission despite Portsmouth man’s selection

Tony Popovic is hoping Thomas Waddingham’s maiden Socceroos call-up can inspire him to become a regular in the national set-up.

And the Aussie has explained why now was the perfect time to bring the Pompey striker into the fold for the forthcoming international break.

The 21-year-old is enjoying a rich vein of form at Fratton Park, having put his injury woes firmly behind him.

After missing the first 10 Championship matches of the campaign due to ankle surgery, Waddingham netted twice from the bench in the four outings since his return, which included the winner against Millwall last month.

His recent emergence was then rewarded with a maiden senior call-up for the Socceroos, who face Qatar and Peru in the latest international window.

He joins former Pompey team-mate Kusini Yengi in the camp after the 27-year-old was selected for the first time since November 2024.

Waddingham and Yengi’s minutes have been managed by the Blues and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, with the duo both returning to the fray in recent weeks.

But with the Asia Cup recently pushed back until 2027, Popovic has revealed current international window represented the perfect opportunity to run the rule over potential options.

And although the Socceroos boss is aware of the Blues striker’s fitness, he hopes the call-up provides inspiration for future inclusions.

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Socceroos boss on Pompey striker’s maiden senior call-up

Speaking about Waddingham and Yengi in his pre-Qatar press conference, the Aussie said: ‘It’s obviously exciting for them. ‘(Kusini Yengi) comes back after a long absence with us.

‘You know, obviously some injuries have really stopped his progress in getting regular football, but both of those (Yengi and Waddingham) don’t have a lot of minutes, so they’re just getting some game time just very recently off the bench.

‘So we understand that they’re not at their best right now, but we’d like to see them.

‘As I said earlier, we hope that this can really inspire them for more, to know that they are being watched and monitored even in a period where they’re not getting a lot of game time.

‘But we’ve seen what they’ve produced on the field has been good, some good quality, obviously without the minutes.

‘We’d like to see them get some more and hopefully over the next 12 months they play more regularly, they get stronger physically.

‘And, you know, they enjoy this experience and we’ll see how they are in camp.

‘I don’t know what level they’ll be in terms of where we want them now, but we’re excited to have both of them in and hopefully they’ll both get some minutes and enjoy the experience.’

The Socceroos face Qatar in Doha on Friday before taking on Jordan in a friendly on Tuesday.

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