Aiden O'Neill: World Cup profile | Australia & New York City FC midfielder | OneFootball

By Cal Meachem

Meet Aiden O'Neill.

New York City FC's pace-setting midfielder is ready to represent Australia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Two fellow MLS players – NYCFC defender Kai Trewin and Colorado Rapids defender Lucas Herrington – are also with the Socceroos at this summer's tournament.

MLS background

O'Neill started his professional career at English Premier League side Burnley FC, then broke through with A-League club Melbourne City and Belgian powerhouse Standard Liège.

Following his successful stint in Belgium, O'Neill joined NYCFC in 2025 and has made 39 appearances across all competitions.

Last year, O'Neill helped NYCFC make the Eastern Conference Final in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

Stats

New York City FC schedule

International experience

When healthy, O'Neill has been a key starter for Australia.

Aside from an ankle injury during World Cup qualifying, he has been involved in every national team window since March 2023 and has featured in each of the Socceroos’ last 15 matches.

This will be O'Neill's first World Cup trip.

World Cup schedule

The Socceroos are in Group D alongside the United States, Paraguay and Türkiye.

The 2026 World Cup has expanded from the usual 32 nations to 48 total. The top two teams advance from each group, and the top eight third-place finishers also make the knockout phase (Round of 32).

The tournament, which is co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, spans from June 11 to July 19.

World Cup history

This is Australia's seventh World Cup trip and sixth in a row, qualifying for every tournament since 2006. 

The Socceroos have twice reached the Round of 16, in 2006 and 2022, for their best-ever finish.

How Australia qualified

Australia booked their World Cup ticket by finishing second behind Japan in Group C of the third round of Asian (AFC) World Cup qualifying.

At that stage, the top two teams from each group automatically qualified.