Tony Popovic has wasted little time in shaking up the Socceroos, naming eight fresh faces in his first squad since being appointed national team boss – including the return of midfielder Massimo Luongo from retirement.
Luongo called time on his international career before the Asian Cup earlier this year to focus on his push for promotion to the Premier League with Ipswich Town, and had played down the chances of him reversing that decision when asked in recent months.
Massimo Luongo and Omari Hutchinson of Ipswich Town battle with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool in the English Premier League.Credit: Getty Images
However, the departure of Graham Arnold and arrival of Popovic as the new Socceroos coach appears to have prompted a change of heart by the 32-year-old, who joins the returning Ajdin Hrustic and Riley McGree in a new-look midfield contingent and has made himself available for the rest of Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Other surprise moves by Popovic include a first-time call-up for his former Melbourne Victory winger Nishan Velupillay, as well as his A-League teammates Daniel Arzani and Jason Geria. The latter has not represented the Socceroos since 2016.
The Socceroos face China at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night, needing all three points to keep alive their hopes of direct qualification for the World Cup. Five days later, they take on Group C leaders Japan in Saitama; Australia has not beaten the Samurai Blue in their past nine meetings, dating back to 2009.
More to come…
SOCCEROOS SQUAD FOR OCTOBER WINDOW
GOALKEEPERS: Maty Ryan, Joe Gauci, Paul Izzo
DEFENDERS: Aziz Behich, Jordy Bos, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng, Jason Geria, Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Gianni Stensness
MIDFIELDERS: Keanu Baccus, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Massimo Luongo, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O’Neill
FORWARDS: Daniel Arzani, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Nestory Irankunda, Sam Silvera, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Nishan Velupillay
