Anatomy of a deadly right flank: The Bos-Volpato pairing that almost brought Socceroos a winner

June 26, 2026 — 6:18pm

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It was a case of another Socceroos outing, another set of selection surprises from Tony Popovic.

For Friday’s third group game against Paraguay, the head coach made six changes to the starting line-up that was outclassed by the United States last week. And while the pre-match focus was on the re-inclusion of Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, Australia actually discovered their most potent attacking outlet through a forced change.

The absence of right wing-back Jacob Italiano due to injury – while unfortunate – became the gateway to a reshuffle that saw Popovic shift Jordy Bos away from his left wing-back role and into the vacant right wing-back spot, with Aziz Behich slotting in on the left. Popovic also gave Christian Volpato the nod on the right side of attack, and it was Volpato’s........

© The Age