Lachlan Avil 
Nestory Irankunda walking out for Australia. Provided by Aleksandar Jason/Socceroos.
Nestory Irankunda has taken to social media to express his disappointment in not being selected for Tony Popovic’s latest Socceroos squad, for a pair of crucial World Cup Qualifiers against Indonesia and China.
The 19-year-old posted an image on his Instagram story on Friday afternoon (AEDT) with the caption: “They will ignore you, until they can’t”, after the squad selection was made public.
The starlet was picked by Popovic in his first window in charge of the Socceroos last October, but failed to significantly impress in the half of football he was allowed during Australia’s 3-1 win over China at Adelaide Oval.
The call-up came at a time where Irankunda was still settling into life at German giants Bayern Munich, playing in the youth setup and occasionally making a first team bench.
Whilst his ability is clear, his lack of first-team senior football might not have been the best preparation for international football.
However, since the beginning of his loan spell at Switzerland Super League side Grasshoppers, the starlet has three assists in his first nine appearances and won the club’s player of the month award for February.
Irankunda is never far from selection controversy, as he was also left out of Tony Vidmar’s Olyroos side who failed to score a single goal across three matches at the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup.
You can watch our full discussion on the squad in the YouTube video below.