NYCFC's Aiden O'Neill and Kai Trewin will represent Australia at the World Cup | OneFootball

Until last year, New York City FC never had an Australian on their roster. Now, they have two, for Aiden O'Neill joined the team in 2025 and Kai Trewin signed before the 2026 campaign. The players have been significant to Pascal Jansen's team. And after their hard work for both club and country, they will be heading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

O'Neill and Trewin were named to the Australian men's national team for the biggest football tournament in the world. This is the first World Cup for both NYCFC players, as most of the roster is full of first-time players.

NYCFC has two players representing Australia

Notably, O'Neill has been a regular for Australia over the last few years, consistently playing for the national team. He is likely to start matches during the tournament. On the other hand, Trewin only recently made his debut during World Cup qualifiers, and likely will be utilized as someone who comes off the bench. Nevertheless, NYCFC can be proud of their two players.

Also, Australia is in the same group as the United States men's national team. Hence, O'Neill and Trewin will be competing against their teammate, Matt Freese. The goalkeeper is a part of the USMNT roster and might end up as the starter for the team at the World Cup. That is up in the air, but truly, he should start for the Stars and Stripes.

Alas, the three NYCFC players will be on opposite sides in the group round of the World Cup, for they are in Group D. Australia and the USMNT will face off on Friday, June 19. While fans of the club will likely be cheering for O'Neill and Trewin in the other games, most of them, unless they are Australian, will be cheering for the USMNT. So, in a way, hopefully the Socceroos will do well, except against the US.

While the Stars and Stripes are expected to make it out of Group D, Australia is a bit of a question. More teams will make it to the knockout stage, for the top two in each group, and the best eight third-place teams move on out of the group. FIFA has subsequently made it easier and is rewarding okay play. But more teams will have the opportunity to play at least one more match.

Perhaps Australia will be one of those national teams. But no matter what happens, hopefully O'Neill and Trewin do well when they are on the pitch. And, of course, ideally, they will return to NYCFC with more confidence and 100% health.