Buy Hold Sell: Best 11 ASX stocks

The countdown is on to the FIFA World Cup and so what better way to join the party than by putting together our own best XI of ASX stocks. 

In this special edition of Buy Hold Sell, we've asked First Sentier Investors' Dushko Bajic to take on the role of manager and select a starting team of 11 ASX stocks he thinks can deliver on the pitch. 

It's a lineup that is looking to deliver everything you need to win - solid leadership, genuine experience, strong vision, versatility and a bit of X-factor. 

But which Aussie stocks are getting the call-up and which are being left at home? Which companies can deliver the right balance of attack and defence? You'll have to tune in to find out. 

And for the football fans out there, Dushko also shares his prediction for how the Socceroos are likely to get on when the World Cup kicks off in North America this week, and the team he thinks will be crowned world champions when everything is said and done.

Let's kick off. 

Please note this episode was filmed on 3 June 2026.

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Edited Transcript  

Tom Stelzer: I'm Tom Stelzer and welcome to this special World Cup edition of Buy Hold Sell. 

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just about to kick off in North America, what better way to celebrate than by putting together our own best XI of ASX stocks? And taking on the role of manager today is Dushko Bajic, Head of Australian Equities - Growth at First Sentier and football fanatic. Dushko, thanks for joining us.

Dushko Bajic: Thank you very much for the invite.

Tom Stelzer: Before we get to your team, Dushko, I've got a couple of predictions for you. How do you think the Socceroos are going to get on in the World Cup this year and who's your pick for the overall winner?

Dushko Bajic: Yeah. Starting with the easy questions first there, Tom. Australia are in Group D, but I don't think Group D stands for Group of Death. It's one of the better groups, I'd say, fairly evenly matched. 

Of course, in the tournament, first game matters - Turkey followed by host nation USA. I think we could well pass through the group stage, unlikely to be first, in which case I think our run might end in the round of 32, a new round for this tournament. If we were to win our group, we could even push through to the group of 16. So let's see how we go.

Tom Stelzer: And in terms of overall World Cup winner?

Dushko Bajic: Yeah, that's a great question. I've looked at the prediction markets and all the quant analysis and the favourite is Spain, followed by France, and I can well and truly understand why that might be the case. But I don't think you can rule out England with Harry Kane. If you've got him as a striker, you're always a chance. I think Germany are due for a better performance after a couple of weaker results in recent World Cups.

But my tip actually is Brazil for the win. I like the combination of the flair that the Brazilian team can come up with Carlo Ancelotti as a coach. So the Italian tactician with the Brazilian talent and flare are there for the win in my view.

Tom Stelzer: So you heard it here first, Brazil to win the World Cup. We might move on to your team now, Dushko. You've gone for a 4-4-2 in a diamond formation, so that's one goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders, two forwards. Do you mind just talking us through the thinking there?

Dushko Bajic: Look, I was trying to be inspired by my favourite coach, Jurgen Klopp, as a Liverpool fan. He normally plays a 4-3-3, but I'm going to adapt it for this tournament and go with a 4-4-2 Diamond, but I want Jurgen's heavy metal football in there with a bit of "gegenpressing". 

I just think controlling the middle will be important and you've also got to put the formation in that makes sense with the team you've got and I've got a very attacking team and I think 4-4-2 Diamond will work well.

Tom Stelzer: We might move on to your picks now, starting at the back. Who have you got as your goalkeeper and why?

Goalkeeper - Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) 

Dushko Bajic: Yeah, I think CBA is the goalkeeper. It does the national service when Australia's in trouble and keeps the credit flowing to the economy. You also need a calm hand there and an experienced management team. And I think in Matt Comyn you've got one of the best CEOs in Australia. Fantastic capital ratios, amazing deposit franchise funding those mortgages. No bad debts as far as the eye can see. So rock solid, that's who I want in defence. I don't want any flapping on corners. So CBA's my goalkeeper.

Tom Stelzer: So safe pair of hands there in goals. We might move to the defence now starting with the fullbacks or are you two fullbacks and why?

Left Back - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX: FPH)

Dushko Bajic: Yeah, the wide backs. I'm going to go with a couple of companies that can defend, but also attack. When you're playing a 4-4-2 Diamond, you're narrow in the middle, so your left and your right back have to be able to go up and down the lines. 

So I'm going to start with Fisher and Paykel on the left. Like every good Aussie, I'll acquire a Kiwi company and call it Australian and put it in our squad. It's got an amazing healthcare business, especially in hospitals. It's not relying on reimbursements, it's literally the CapEx budget of the hospital. 

Their nasal high flow product is superior, changing clinical practice and getting better client outcomes. So it can both attack and defend and it's in hospitals so it's a safe pair of hands. 

Right Back - AUB Group (ASX: AUB)

On the right, I'm going to go with AUB Group. Insurance brokers and agents feel right in terms of stability in their earnings and their revenues. Great return on equity there as well and some experience where football was born in the UK with that Tysers acquisition and really strong in Australia and New Zealand. They can both defend and attack, so I'll go AUB as a right back.

Centrebacks - Wesfarmers (ASX: WES), Coles Group (ASX: COL)

Tom Stelzer: So good mix of defence and attack there in the full backs. We'll move to central defence now. Who are the two centre backs you're going for?

Dushko Bajic: Yeah, look, centre backs have got to be rock solid and project confidence as does the goalkeeper. I'm going for Wesfarmers and also Coles. Now they've got to be a team and I know Wesfarmers used to own Coles. I'm expecting good connection and partnership there and good teamwork. 

I think with Rob Scott as CEO of Wesfarmers, we've got an Olympic medalist so a lot of tournament experience there - a wonderful silver medal. And in Leah, we've got an amazing CEO who's deploying great strategy, winning some good market share, especially off the IGAs of the world and keeping Woolworths honest and a great online shopping business now that's not margin diluted, which is a pretty hard thing to achieve. 

So those two are rock solid. We learned through Covid that there's two businesses you can't kill, supermarkets and Bunnings. So when the attack comes in at you, you want businesses that are there no matter what the occasion is.

So Wesfarmers and Coles are the two in the middle.

Tom Stelzer: It's a pretty solid backline there. We'll move on to the midfield now. Who are the two you've got playing in central midfield in the diamond?

Defensive midfielder - HUB24 (ASX: HUB)

Dushko Bajic: So bottom of the diamond, I've got HUB24. What would you like in the middle at the bottom there? A platform of course. Really solid, great distribution for fund managers, wonderful for financial planners and their clients. Amazing efficiency, lots and lots of growth and market share gains so they can really distribute that ball from the middle at the bottom of that diamond, but can also come back and defend. 

Attacking midfielder - Life360 (ASX: 360)

Dushko Bajic: At the top of the diamond, of course it's got to be Life360 - 360 degree view of what's in front and behind you. Of course, the tournament is in the US, so it's got an amazing US franchise. Globally, it's going to have over a hundred million monthly active users. 

And you also obviously want durability through the tournament. We want to try and get to the final. And so within its product set, Life360 is adding durability through pet tracking in the first instance and then also elderly parent tracking. So reasons to keep using that in the long run and therefore also get to the end of the tournament.

Tom Stelzer: So it's HUB24 and Life360. Who's providing the width in the midfield?

Left midfielder - Catapult Sports (ASX: CAT)

Dushko Bajic: It has to be Catapult - they can do all the sports analysis for you. They can combine the wearables with player tracking in the gym in terms of how they're performing so you know who to put on the park. They can also sell you some tactics in terms of video analysis and they can do some scouting in terms of who you should put in the team. So left wing has to be Catapult. 

Right midfielder - Xero (ASX: XRO)

And then on the right, look, it has to be Xero. They've landed in the US and they've completely changed their management team. They're all now Silicon Valley-based. Who else would you want to be right winger and punching in those crosses other than an experienced set of Silicon Valley executives who with Mello acquisition have actually bulked up in the US and now have a right to win some market share off the incumbent there. And you've seen that with an acceleration in growth in their US business. 

Of course they're number one where football was born - in the UK, and they're number one in Australia and New Zealand. So right wing goes to Xero.

Tom Stelzer: That's the midfield sorted. So finally we're going to move up to the attack. These are the Killian Mbappes, the Harry Kanes or closer to home, maybe the Mark Vidukas, the Tim Cahills - who are the two leading the line?

Forwards - WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), Pro Medicus (ASX: PME)

Dushko Bajic: Look, I'm going to go with WiseTech and Pro Medicus. Sometimes you get strikers with a bit of off-field drama, but if they're really, really talented, you should still put them on the park. And WiseTech gets its spot because there's a bit of genius there. 

They're also going to grow their earnings 50% next year and they've made an enormous acquisition in the form of E2open, which is a US-based acquisition, and they basically took out their main competitor there, BluJay, that was in that E2open business. So I think they're going to land and expand in the US and I think that's the sort of genius you need in the attack to try and unlock the tough defences you'll come across. 

And then with Pro Medicus, you've got the super consistent high-growth company gaining tonnes of market share. Almost all of its revenue comes from the US. They've gone from 0 to 11% market share in the US and I think well on their way to 30% plus and they're the striker that delivers every time. 

They don't have any bad games. There are no downgrades. They deliver every single half - first half and second half, and they tend to give you an upgrade as well through the year. So that's the person leading the attack from me.

Tom Stelzer: There we have it. Our best 11 of ASX stocks. Thanks to Dushko for taking part and thanks for watching. Make sure to check out our YouTube channel for more Buy Hold Sell.

Dushko Bajic's ASX stocks XI

What's your verdict?

Has Dushko got it right? Which stocks do you think deserved a starting spot and why? Let us know in the comments below.