Socceroos coach Graham Arnold impressed with Nestory Irankunda’s progress at Bayern Munich

Football Australia has confirmed another venue on the Socceroos’ qualifying road to the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

Teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda looms as an integral part of Socceroos coach Graham Arnold’s plans for next month FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bahrain and Indonesia after an encouraging start to his Bayern Munich career.

The 18-year-old winger has impressed in pre-season cameos off the bench for the European giants, having found the back of the net and provided assists for his teammates.

Irankunda was also a member of Bayern’s match-day squad – albeit as an unused substitute – for the club’s first competitive match of the season, a 4-0 German Cup win over SSV Ulm last Saturday morning (AEST).

“It’s been a great start for the kid,” Arnold said on Wednesday.

“He’s in great spirits, and he’s so happy. The move so far has been excellent for him.

“I’ve spoken to the kid and he says he still pinches himself that he’s training with that calibre of players. The kid is only going to learn and get better from that.

“It’s great that he’s fitted in very well and very quickly.”

Arnold said he would have no hesitation in picking Irankunda – who debuted for the Socceroos in June – in his squad for the battles with Bahrain (September 5, Gold Coast) and Indonesia (September 10, Jakarta).

“I’ll be interested to see the difference in him in just three months since the Bangladesh Palestine games (in June) where he was very impressive,” the Socceroos coach said.

“There’ll be a lot of work (that has been done) on his fitness levels, there’ll be quite a lot of work (done) in the gym, and in Germany they’re playing two to three games a week and he’s got to get used to that.

“Those type of changes are significant, His body will change for sure.”

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is pleased with the progress of Nestory Irankunda. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Socceroos’ qualifying road to the 2026 World Cup will also include a match at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on November 14 against Saudi Arabia.

“Melbourne fans bring a football atmosphere to the game … and they bring a lot of energy to the players,” Arnold said.

“The boys are looking forward to getting back to Australia and are ready to embrace the challenge ahead.”

Following their Melbourne clash with the Roberto Mancini-coached Saudi Arabians, the Socceroos will head to Riffa to meet Bahrain on November 19.

A busy qualifying schedule also includes games in October against China at Adelaide Oval and Japan in Saitama.

For the Socceroos to earn direct entry to the 2026 World Cup – which is being hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico – and avoid having to qualify via playoffs, they must finish in the top two of Group C in the third round of AFC qualifiers.

“It all starts again in a couple of weeks time but the goal is direct qualification,” Arnold said.

Football Australia chief executive officer James Johnson said: “The Socceroos have cultivated an incredible reputation domestically and abroad in recent years.

“We’re so proud of what they’ve achieved to date and look forward to supporting them on this journey towards the FIFA World Cup 2026.”