Sainsbury, Rogic, Taggart miss out as Arnold unveils Socceroos’ World Cup squad

Graham Arnold has sprung some major surprises in his World Cup squad, leaving out a handful of Socceroos stalwarts in favour of younger talent – and making a stunning omission that has been slammed by two former internationals as a blatant act of favouritism.

Australia’s 26-man squad, unveiled on Tuesday afternoon, is heavy with players who helped them secure qualification for Qatar, but it also has an eye on the future. Teenage sensation Garang Kuol and Olyroos graduates Cammy Devlin, Keanu Baccus, Riley McGree and Thomas Deng are among 17 players named for their debut World Cup.

Arnold has made the tough call to leave out his son-in-law, Trent Sainsbury, who featured in the last World Cup and the team that won the 2015 Asian Cup. He has paid the price for scratchy form at club level in Qatar and for the Socceroos.

Instead, a punt has been taken on the fitness of Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles, Australia’s first-choice centre-back pairing who are both coming back from long-term injuries. Milos Degenek, Bailey Wright and Deng are waiting in reserve in case either fails to prove their fitness.

Tom Rogic remains on the outer, having not played enough football for West Bromwich Albion to warrant selection, while Adam Taggart has been overlooked for Scotland-born Central Coast Mariners star Jason Cummings, who joins Jamie Maclaren and Mitch Duke – as well as the versatile Mathew Leckie – as Arnold’s striking options.

Meanwhile, rising AS Roma star Cristian Volpato was offered a spot in the squad but turned it down to keep his options open with Italy. It’s a massive call for an 18-year-old trapped between two countries, but one that has created a chance for in-form Scotland-based midfielder Baccus, who plays for St Mirren and is attracting interest from English clubs.

But the biggest shock, as forecast by the Age and Herald, was the snub of Australia’s best-performed goalkeeper at club level in recent years, Mitch Langerak. The 34-year-old retired from international football last year, citing Japan’s COVID-19 restrictions and the impact travel would have on his young family, leaving them with no support network. Arnold convinced him to come back to the fold, and it seemed he was a certainty to be picked for the World Cup to provide skipper Maty Ryan with a strong challenge for a starting spot.

However, Danny Vukovic and Andrew Redmayne – who, together with Ryan, have longstanding connections with Socceroos goalkeeping coach John Crawley – were given the nod ahead of Langerak, in a move former Socceroo Tommy Oar described as an “absolute wind-up” and Robbie Cornthwaite said was “staggering”.