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Western Sydney Wanderers defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley has won a recall to the Socceroos squad for the first time in six years.
Topor-Stanley and Sydney FC recruit Bernie Ibini-Isei are in a 23-man Socceroos squad for internationals next month against the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The squad, announced by coach Ange Postecoglou in Melbourne on Thursday, contains a host of changes from friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Belgium earlier this month.
Exclusions include Robbie Kruse, Carl Valeri, Bailey Wright and Ben Halloran as Postecoglou continues to cast his eye wide ahead of the Asian Cup on home soil in January.
Players summoned include Topor-Stanley, whose two appearances in the national outfit came in 2008, and ex-Brisbane Roar defender Ivan Franjic, who is now based in Russia and has overcome a hamstring injury which curtailed his World Cup in Brazil.
“We are still giving players we’ve identified for the National team an opportunity to experience international football to ensure we create a deeper pool of players to call on for the Asian Cup and beyond,” Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said.
“These two games give us a few more to throw into the mix with an experienced core group of players to see how they cope with the training intensity and the demands of international football before we start monitoring them all leading into the Japan match.
“We will be in a position to select a settled squad for the Japan match in November, which will offer a strong in
Australia will play the UAE in the UAE on October 10 and Qatar in Qatar on October 14.”
Postecoglou added that while he was conscious of the A-League season, he still wanted to pick those that warranted selection, despite any disruption to the domestic league.
“We were mindful that the matches coincide with the first weekend of the A-League and we tried to not be too disruptive but ultimately this is our National team and everyone agrees this is the highest honour in the game and we will always pick players deserving of that honour,” Postecoglou said.
Socceroos Squad:
Aziz Behich, Mark Bresciano, Josh Brilliante, Tim Cahill, Jason Davidson, Adam Federici, Ivan Franjic, Chris Herd, James Holland, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Mile Jedinak, Tomi Juric, Mitch Langerak, Matthew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Tommy Oar, Mat Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, James Troisi, Alex Wilkinson.
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