The Socceroos have named an experimental 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Palestine.
Fourteen players feature in the squad that weren't a part of Australia's Qatar World Cup mission for the matches on November 16 and 22, with two debutants featured.
Western Sydney Wanderers striker Kusini Yengi has received a surprise call-up after scoring five goals in nine matches for League One leaders Portsmouth, while Charlton stopper Ashley Maynard-Brewer is also in as a deputy to Mat Ryan.
MORE: Where are the Socceroos playing Palestine in AFC World Cup qualifier? New venue confirmed
Ipswich duo Massimo Luongo and Cameron Burgess have been rewarded for their form in the Championship, while Craig Goodwin is likely to feature in attack after scoring five goals in seven matches for Saudi Pro League side Al Wehda.
Adelaide United goalkeeper Joe Gauci has also been rewarded for his fine A-League form over the past 18 months.
Harry Souttar was named despite struggling for game time at Leicester City this season, and talented centre-half Alessandro Circati could add to his single green and gold cap.
There was no place in the squad for talented attacking trio Cristian Volpato, Nestory Irankunda and Garang Kuol.
Socceroos 23-man squad vs. Bangladesh and Palestine Name
Current Club, Country
Keanu BACCUS
St Mirren FC, Scotland
Aziz BEHICH
Melbourne City FC, Australia
Brandon BORRELLO
Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia
Jordy BOS
K.V.C Westerlo, Belgium
Martin BOYLE
Hibernian FC, Scotland
Cameron BURGESS
Ipswich Town FC, England
Alessandro CIRCATI
Parma Calcio 1913, Italy
Mitchell DUKE
FC Machida Zelvia, Japan
Joe GAUCI (Gk)
Adelaide United FC, Australia
Craig GOODWIN
Al Wehda FC, Saudi Arabia
Jackson IRVINE
FC St Pauli, Germany
Massimo LUONGO
Ipswich Town FC, England
Jamie MACLAREN
Melbourne City FC, Australia
Ashley MAYNARD-BREWER (Gk)
Charlton Athletic FC, England
Connor METCALFE
FC St. Pauli, Germany
Lewis MILLER
Hibernian FC, Scotland
Aiden O'NEILL
Standard de Liege, Belgium
Kye ROWLES
Heart of Midlothian FC, Scotland
Mathew RYAN (Gk) (Cpt)
AZ Alkmaar, Netherland
Sam SILVERA
Middlesbrough FC, England
Harry SOUTTAR
Leicester City FC, England
Ryan STRAIN
St Mirren FC, Scotland
Kusini YENGI
Portsmouth FC, England
Socceroos World Cup qualifiers schedule In November, the Socceroos will begin the long process of attempting to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
In the second round of AFC World Cup qualifying, the Socceroos will play in a round robin format against Lebanon, Palestine and either Maldives or Bangladesh, with the top two teams qualifying for the third round of qualification, as well as qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup.
Australia have been drawn in Group I alongside Palestine, Lebanon and the winner of Maldives and Bangladesh.
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- Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) July 27, 2023 The qualification campaign will see two games played at the end of 2023, with the rest of the matches in the second round set to begin in March after the 2024 Asian Cup.
Match Date (AEDT) Australia vs Bangladesh November 16 8pm Palestine vs Australia November 22 1am Australia vs Lebanon March 21 Lebanon vs Australia March 26 Bangladesh vs Australia June 6 Australia vs Palestine June 11 Socceroos AFC Asian Cup 2024 schedule It is important for the Socceroos to be at peak performance by the end of the year, as they will then travel to Qatar to begin 2024 in a quest to regain the Asian Cup.
They were disappointing in their quarterfinal exit in 2019, but the team has come on in leaps and bounds since then and the team will be targeting a return to the final and a second Asian Cup title after their maiden win in 2015.
On paper, they have a straightforward group, taking on India in their opening clash, before facing off against Syria and then Uzbekistan to close out the group stages.
Match Date Time Stadium Australia vs India January 13 10:30 p.m. AEDT Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Australia vs Syria January 18 10:30 p.m. AEDT Jassim bin Hammad Stadium Australia vs Uzbekistan January 22 10:30 p.m. AEDT Abdulla bin Khalifa Stadium