Age: 27
Born: Aberdeen, Scotland
Club: Leicester City (England)
Harry Souttar has been something of a headache for the Socceroos – when fit, the Leicester City defender is an obvious starter, but fitness has been hard to come by.
A ruptured Achilles tendon saw him sidelined for 17 months. The Socceroos’ friendly against Mexico on the eve of the World Cup was his first international appearance since November 2024. He then captained the side for the first time, in the final warm up game against Switzerland.
It’s a similar scenario to the one he faced in 2022, where he went to Qatar with limited minutes following a knee injury, but was one of Australia’s best performers.
The towering centre-back finally only returned to first-team football in April, when he was named on the bench for Leicester’s one-nil loss to Swansea.Â
After three games on the bench, Souttar played the final two matches of Leicester’s season, scoring a towering header in the process, but was unable to save City from relegation to League One.
Popovic’s decision to include the 27-year old is a risk. Limited club minutes, and a long absence from the field, may leave him lacking match awareness and fitness, and fans will be sweating on every sprint or jump Souttar does on the field.
Interestingly, Souttar isn’t the only member of his family at this World Cup. His brother, John, is playing for Scotland.
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