The Socceroos will conclude their preparations for the World Cup in North America with a warm-up friendly against Switzerland, their first meeting with European opposition since 2023.<\/p>\n
Tony Popovic’s side will take on the world number 19 Swiss in San Diego, United States, on Saturday, June 6 (Sunday, June 7 AEST), their last outing before facing T\u00fcrkiye in their World Cup opener a week later in Vancouver, Canada.<\/p>\n
Socceroos FIFA World Cup schedule<\/p>\n
International friendlies<\/p>\n
Mexico \u2014 Sunday, May 31, 11amSwitzerland \u2014 Sunday June 7, 5am<\/p>\n
FIFA World Cup pool matches<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrkiye \u2014 Sunday, June 14. 2pmUnited States \u2014 Saturday, June 20, 5amParaguay \u2014 Friday, June 26, 12pm<\/p>\n
*all times in AEST<\/p>\n
Switzerland, who have qualified for a sixth-straight time and have four times reached the round-of-16 in the last five editions, are fancied to ease through their World Cup pool.<\/p>\n
Popovic called it a “great final hit-out for us before the World Cup commences”, describing Switzerland as “strong top-20 opponents”.<\/p>\n
Having guided Switzerland through their qualification group undefeated, former Swiss international Murat Yakin is now expected to steer his team past co-hosts Canada (ranked 30), Bosnia and Herzegovina (65) and Qatar (55) in group B.<\/p>\n
The last time Australia played a top European nation was in October 2023, when they were beaten 1-0 by England at Wembley.<\/p>\n
The Socceroos will be based in California during the build-up to the World Cup, with a friendly against co-hosts Mexico also booked for late May.<\/p>\n