2025–26 Western Sydney Wanderers FC season

Western Sydney Wanderers
2025–26 season
ChairmanPaul Lederer
ManagerAlen Stajcic
StadiumCommBank Stadium
A-League Men7th
A-League Men FinalsTBD
Australia CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Kosta Barbarouses (3)
All: Kosta Barbarouses (4)
Highest home attendance21,258
vs. Sydney FC
(29 November 2025)
A-League Men
Lowest home attendance5,029
vs. Auckland FC
(19 December 2025)
A-League Men
Average home league attendance10,512
Biggest win3–0
vs. Peninsula Power (A)
(22 July 2025)
Australia Cup
Biggest defeat0–3
vs. Heidelberg United (A)
(12 August 2025)
Australia Cup
All statistics correct as of 19 December 2025.

The 2025–26 season is the 14th in the history of Western Sydney Wanderers FC. In addition to the domestic league, Western Sydney Wanderers participated in the Australia Cup.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  AUS Gabriel Cleur
3 DF  AUS Alex Gersbach
4 DF  AUS Alex Bonetig
5 MF  MLT Dylan Scicluna
6 MF  IRQ Mohamed Al-Taay
8 MF  AUS Steven Ugarkovic
9 FW  NZL Kosta Barbarouses
14 DF  AUS Phillip Cancar
17 MF  AUS Jarrod Carluccio
19 DF  AUS Ruon Tongyik
20 GK  AUS Lawrence Thomas (captain)
21 FW  AUS Aydan Hammond (scholarship)
22 DF  AUS Anthony Pantazopoulos
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF  BUL Bozhidar Kraev
24 DF  AUS Nathan Barrie (scholarship)
25 MF  AUS Joshua Brillante
26 FW  AUS Brandon Borrello
28 DF  AUS Joshua Laws
30 GK  AUS Jordan Holmes
31 DF  AUS Aidan Simmons
32 MF  AUS Angus Thurgate
34 DF  AUS Ricky Fransen (scholarship)
36 DF  AUS Ben Mewett (scholarship)
37 FW  AUS Alaat Abdul-Rahman (scholarship)
45 FW  AUS Alou Kuol

Transfers

Transfers in

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
10 FW Alexander Badolato Melbourne Victory End of loan (1 year) 30 June 2025 [1]
9 FW Kosta Barbarouses Wellington Phoenix Free transfer 1 year 1 July 2025 [2]
8 MF Steven Ugarkovic Melbourne City Free transfer 2 years 1 July 2025 [3]
14 DF Phillip Cancar Newcastle Jets Free transfer 1 year 1 July 2025 [4]
45 FW Alou Kuol Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 1 year 1 July 2025 [5]
11 FW Marcus Younis Jong PSV End of loan (2 years) 1 July 2025 [6]
36 DF Ben Mewett Central Coast Mariners Academy Free transfer 2 year scholarship 13 July 2025 [7]
19 DF Ruon Tongyik Unattached Free transfer 1 year 11 August 2025 [8]
32 MF Angus Thurgate Unattached Free transfer 3 years 14 September 2025 [9]

From youth squad

No. Position Player Age Notes Ref
37 FW Alaat Abdul-Rahman 18 2-year scholarship contract [10]
34 DF Ricky Fransen 18 2-year scholarship contract [11]

Transfers out

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
14 FW Nicolas Milanovic Aberdeen Undisclosed 15 May 2025 [12]
13 MF Dean Pelekanos Sabah End of contract 15 June 2025 [13][14]
7 FW Zac Sapsford Dundee United Undisclosed 10 June 2025 [15]
1 GK Taiga Harper Unattached End of contract 30 June 2025 [13]
8 DK Jeong Tae-wook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors End of loan 30 June 2025 [13]
9 FW Marcus Antonsson IFK Värnamo End of contract 30 June 2025 [16][13]
10 FW Alexander Badolato Newcastle Jets Mutual contract termination 30 June 2025 [1][17]
19 DF Jack Clisby Unattached End of contract 30 June 2025 [13]
27 FW James Temelkovski Tai Po End of contract 30 June 2025 [18]
64 MF Juan Mata Unattached End of contract 30 June 2025 [19]
11 FW Marcus Younis Brøndby Undisclosed 22 August 2025 [20]
18 MF Oscar Priestman Motherwell Undisclosed 26 August 2025 [21]

Contract extensions

No. Player Position Duration Date Notes Ref.
2 Gabriel Cleur Right-back 1 year 2 June 2025 [22]
30 Jordan Holmes Goalkeeper 2 years 4 June 2025 [23]
25 Joshua Brillante Defensive midfielder 1 year 21 July 2025 Contract extension triggered [24]

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss

2 August 2025 Persib Bandung 1–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Bandung, Indonesia
  • Wiliam 60'
 Report Stadium: GBLA Stadium
Referee: Thoriq Alkatiri (Indonesia)
19 August 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Newcastle Jets Sydney, Australia
 Report
  • Fryer
Stadium: Wanderers Football Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
27 August 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers 3–1 Blacktown Spartans Sydney, Australia
19:00 AEST
Report
  • 40'
 Stadium: Wanderers Football Park
20 September 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Central Coast Mariners Sydney, Australia
 Report
Stadium: Wanderers Football Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
4 October 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Australia
 Report
10 October 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–1 Perth Glory Sydney
8:00 AWST
Report
Stadium: Wanderers Football Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A League Men 18 October 2025 25 April 2026 Matchday 1 TBD 9 2 3 4 6 10 −4 022.22
Australia Cup 22 July 2025 12 August 2025 Round of 32 Round of 16 2 1 0 1 3 3 +0 050.00
Total 11 3 3 5 9 13 −4 027.27

Last updated: 19 December 2025
Source: Competitions

A-League Men

Main article: 2025–26 A-League Men

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
8 Perth Glory 8 3 1 4 7 11 −4 10
9 Adelaide United 8 3 0 5 12 11 +1 9 Qualification for 2026 Australia Cup play-offs[a]
10 Western Sydney Wanderers 9 2 3 4 6 10 −4 9
11 Central Coast Mariners 8 2 2 4 9 12 −3 8
12 Wellington Phoenix[b] 8 2 2 4 10 14 −4 8
Updated to match(es) played on 20 December 2025 (2 of 3 games played). Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) wins; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. ^ The top eight clubs qualify directly to the 2026 Australia Cup.
  2. ^ Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
9 2 3 4 6 10  −4 9 2 2 1 5 5  0 0 1 3 1 5  −4

Last updated: 19 December 2025.
Source: Ultimate A-League

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundHAAAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAAAAHAHAH
ResultDLDLWWLDL
Position71011119897
Points012258899
Updated to match(es) played on 19 December 2025. Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss


Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

18 October 2025 1 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Melbourne City Sydney
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 9,205
Referee: Alex King
25 October 2025 2 Auckland FC 1–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Auckland
17:00 NZDT
Report Stadium: Go Media Stadium
Attendance: 14,767
Referee: Tim Danaskos
1 November 2025 3 Macarthur FC 1–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
19:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 7,605
Referee: Alireza Faghani
7 November 2025 4 Adelaide United 2–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Adelaide
19:05 ACDT
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 9,916
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
22 November 2025 5 Western Sydney Wanderers 3–2 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 6,557
Referee: Daniel Elder
29 November 2025 6 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–0 Sydney FC Sydney
19:35 AEDT
Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 21,258
Referee: Alex King
5 December 2025 7 Perth Glory 1–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Perth
18:45 AWST
  • Despotovski 30'
 Report Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 5,590
Referee: Shane Skinner
13 December 2025 8 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–0 Brisbane Roar Sydney
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 4,652
Referee: Adam Kersey
19 December 2025 9 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–2 Auckland FC Sydney
20:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 5,029
Referee: Alex King
Note: The match was originally scheduled for 19:35, but was delayed to 20:00 due to adverse weather conditions.
27 December 2025 10 Adelaide United v Western Sydney Wanderers Adelaide
19:05 ACDT Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
1 January 2026 11 Western Sydney Wanderers v Macarthur FC Sydney
19:00 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
10 January 2026 12 Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: AAMI Park
17 January 2026 13 Western Sydney Wanderers v Newcastle Jets Sydney
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
25 January 2026 14 Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory Sydney
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
31 January 2026 15 Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
19:35 AEDT Report Stadium: Allianz Stadium
7 February 2026 16 Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne City Sydney
19:35 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
13 February 2026 17 Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:35 AEST Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
22 February 2026 18 Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers Gosford
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: Polytec Stadium
28 February 2026 19 Macarthur FC v Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
19:35 AEDT Report Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
7 March 2026 20 Newcastle Jets v Western Sydney Wanderers Newcastle
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
13 March 2026 21 Brisbane Roar v Western Sydney Wanderers Brisbane
18:00 AEST Report Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
20 March 2026 22 Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United Sydney
19:35 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
4 April 2026 23 Melbourne City v Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
19:35 AEDT Report Stadium: AAMI Park
11 April 2026 24 Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC Sydney
19:35 AEST Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
18 April 2026 25 Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers TBC
17:00 NZDT Report Stadium: TBC
25 April 2026 26 Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne Victory Sydney
17:00 AEST Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium

Australia Cup

Main article: 2025 Australia Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

22 July 2025 Round of 32 Peninsula Power 0–3 Western Sydney Wanderers Brisbane
19:30 AEST Report
Stadium: A.J. Kelly Park
Attendance: 1,839
Referee: Jack Powers
12 August 2025 Round of 16 Heidelberg United 3–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
19:30 AEST
Report Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 1,103
Referee: Zijad Ahmetovic

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.[25]

As of 19 December 2025
No. Pos Nat Player Total A-League Men Australia Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
20 GK  AUS Lawrence Thomas 11 0 9 0 2 0
Defenders
2 DF  AUS Gabriel Cleur 8 0 1+5 0 2 0
3 DF  AUS Alex Gersbach 8 0 6 0 2 0
4 DF  AUS Alex Bonetig 11 0 9 0 2 0
19 DF  AUS Ruon Tongyik 6 0 2+3 0 0+1 0
22 DF  AUS Anthony Pantazopoulos 11 1 9 1 2 0
24 DF  AUS Nathan Barrie 3 0 0+2 0 0+1 0
31 DF  AUS Aidan Simmons 11 0 9 0 0+2 0
Midfielders
5 MF  MLT Dylan Scicluna 8 0 0+8 0 0 0
6 MF  IRQ Mohamed Al-Taay 2 0 0+1 0 0+1 0
8 MF  AUS Steven Ugarkovic 11 0 7+2 0 1+1 0
17 MF  AUS Jarrod Carluccio 7 0 0+5 0 0+2 0
23 MF  BUL Bozhidar Kraev 11 3 9 1 2 2
25 MF  AUS Josh Brillante 10 0 8 0 2 0
32 MF  AUS Angus Thurgate 9 0 9 0 0 0
Forwards
9 FW  NZL Kosta Barbarouses 11 4 9 3 2 1
21 FW  AUS Aydan Hammond 10 0 2+6 0 2 0
26 FW  AUS Brandon Borrello 6 0 5+1 0 0 0
37 FW  AUS Alaat Abdul-Rahman 1 0 0+1 0 0 0
39 FW  AUS Awan Lual 6 0 0+6 0 0 0
45 FW  AUS Alou Kuol 11 1 5+4 1 2 0
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
11 FW  AUS Marcus Younis 2 0 0 0 0+2 0
18 MF  AUS Oscar Priestman 1 0 0 0 1 0

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.[25]

As of 19 December 2025
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
     
1 22 DF Anthony Pantazopoulos 4 0 0 2 0 0 6 0 0
2 3 DF Alex Gersbach 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0
31 DF Aidan Simmons 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
4 5 MF Dylan Scicluna 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
17 MF Jarrod Carluccio 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
21 FW Aydan Hammond 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
32 MF Angus Thurgate 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
8 2 DF Gabriel Cleur 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
4 DF Alex Bonetig 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
8 MF Steven Ugarkovic 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
9 FW Kosta Barbarouses 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
26 FW Brandon Borrello 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
45 FW Alou Kuol 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total 22 0 0 4 0 0 26 0 0

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

As of 19 December 2025
Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Men Australia Cup Total
1 20 Lawrence Thomas 2 1 2
Total 2 1 3

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Wanderers confirm departure of Alex Badolato". Western Sydney Wanderers. 27 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Barbarouses joins Wanderers for 2025/26 season". Western Sydney Wanderers. 18 June 2025.
  3. ^ "A-Leagues Champion Ugarkovic returns to Western Sydney". Western Sydney Wanderers. 20 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Cancar returns to the Red & Black". Western Sydney Wanderers. 29 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Alou Kuol joins Wanderers for 2025/26 season". Western Sydney Wanderers. 2 July 2025.
  6. ^ "PSV neemt afscheid van meerdere spelers Jong PSV" [PSV bids farewell to several Jong PSV players]. PSV (in Dutch). 16 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Mewett signs scholarship deal". Western Sydney Wanderers. 13 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Wanderers confirm signing of defender Tongyik". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Wanderers sign Thurgate on three-year deal". Western Sydney Wanderers. 14 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Abdul-Rahman signs two-year scholarship deal". Western Sydney Wanderers. 10 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Fransen pens two-year scholarship deal". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 July 2025.
  12. ^ Dodd, James (2025-05-15). "Western Sydney Wanderers agree club-record transfer fee for Nicolas Milanovic: Full Details". A-Leagues. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Wanderers confirm departure of five players". Western Sydney Wanderers. 7 June 2025.
  14. ^ Sabah [@SabahFCofficial] (15 June 2025). "Welcome to the Land Below the Wind, Dean! Sydney-born 🇦🇺 Formerly from Western Sydney Wanderers. Midfield engine for Sabah. Say hello to our newest Rhino!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Wanderers agree transfer for Sapsford to Dundee United". Western Sydney Wanderers. 10 June 2025.
  16. ^ Diamant, Jonatan Pinheiro (27 May 2025). "Officiellt: Antonsson klar för IFK Värnamo" [Official: Antonsson ready for IFK Värnamo]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish).
  17. ^ "Newcastle Jets sign Alex Badolato". Newcastle Jets. 27 June 2025.
  18. ^ "𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐒𝐊𝐈". Tai Po. 20 July 2025 – via Instagram.
  19. ^ "Wanderers confirm Mata departure". Western Sydney Wanderers. 15 September 2025.
  20. ^ "Club-Record Transfer Fee: Younis departs club for overseas opportunity with Brøndby IF". Western Sydney Wanderers. 22 August 2025.
  21. ^ "'Big talent & potential' - Motherwell buy Australian midfielder Priestman". BBC Sport. 26 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Cleur signs one-year extension". Western Sydney Wanderers. 2 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Holmes extends contract with Wanderers". Western Sydney Wanderers. 4 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Brillante's contract automatically extended". Western Sydney Wanderers. 21 July 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Newcastle Jets FC – Squad". soccerway.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.