Vamos! Socceroos to face Mexico in World Cup warm-up

The Socceroos will have the perfect warm-up match ahead of their World Cup campaign when they face co-hosts Mexico at the famous Rose Bowl stadium.

Australia will head to Pasadena, Los Angeles for their clash with the world No.16 on May 30 which will double as the final audition for players ahead of coach Tony Popovic picking his World Cup squad.

The 90,000-capacity Rose Bowl, which hosted the final of the 1994 World Cup and 1999 Women's World Cup, is expected to sell out - and be packed with Mexican fans.

The Socceroos can expect a parochial, hostile crowd - the perfect preparation for Australia ahead of a World Cup group stage featuring another co-host, the United States.

Australia has played Mexico six times, first meeting in 1970, for two wins, three draws and one loss.

Most recently, while still under Graham Arnold, the Socceroos drew 2-2 with Mexico in Arlington, Texas in September 2023.

"This will be one of our final friendlies before our opening FIFA World Cup match in Vancouver, against one of the UEFA Playoff winners," Popovic said.

"It is also the last opportunity for players to impress before the final 2026 World Cup squad list must be submitted to FIFA.

"Mexico is a quality opponent and having automatically qualified for the tournament as co-hosts, every friendly is crucial for them.

"We are looking forward to this match, which promises a wonderful atmosphere at an iconic stadium."

Squad sizes for the World Cup are yet to be confirmed but will be either 23 or 26 players

The Mexico match will be a crucial warm-up for established Socceroos but will also be the final pitch for fringe players to seal their place in the squad.

After the Mexico match, the Socceroos will relocate to their base in the Bay Area to complete their preparations for the group stage.

Australia has been drawn in Group D for the World Cup finals.

The Socceroos take on the winner of UEFA Play-off C - either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo in Vancouver on June 14 (AEDT) before facing the United States in Seattle on June 20.

Their final group-stage clash will be against Paraguay in Santa Clara on June 26.

The Socceroos also have send-off games against Cameroon at Sydney's Accor Stadium on March 27 and Curacao at Melbourne's AAMI Park on March 31.