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2015 Asian Cup winners Trent Sainsbury, James Troisi and Tomi Juric have returned to the Socceroos squad for their 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Jordan in Amman.
Sainsbury, Juric and Troisi all played major parts in the Socceroos’ success at the Asian Cup in February this year, and will add plenty of firepower to the Australian team against Jordan in two Thursdays time.
Sainsbury started in the Asian Cup final against South Korea, while Juric and Troisi combined to become the heroes for Australia that day.
Ange Postecoglou said it was a sign of the national squad’s depth that Australia could be bringing players of this quality in at this stage.
“It is a sign of the depth we are creating that we bring these three guys back into the squad for the Jordan game,” Postecoglou said.
“All three played a major part in our Asian Cup success and after finding fitness and regular club football they are ready to come back in.
“We are slowly building a squad with alternatives and depth and when we add these three guys to the squad that did very well and won both games in the September window we are building nicely.
“We have said all along that we will need a pool deeper than 23 players throughout the World Cup Qualifiers as we strive to make an impact leading into the next World Cup in Russia.”
The Socceroos sit on top of Group B in the Asian qualifiers, having already defeated Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Tajikistan.
Jordan is the toughest test for the Socceroos so far, and they sit two points behind the Socceroos after three games.
“On paper this is the toughest match we face but we have seen in the earlier games, especially the clash with Kyrgyzstan away, that these matches present challenges on and off the field,” Postecoglou said. “The last time Australia faced Jordan in Amman we lost that game so we have to be well prepared.
“I was happy with the way we evolved both in results and our performances in the last two games and we will look to build on that against Jordan.
“We have been keeping an eye on James for the past 18 months and this season he has started well so we’ll bring him in to see how he fits into the system,” Postecoglou said. “We still need a bit more depth in our fullback areas so James has a chance to impress and show us he can add something to our rapidly increasing pool of players.”
James Meredith has also been added to the squad, while Olyroos Jackson Irvine and Chris Ikonomidis were not selected.
“Both Jackson and Chris have done well in the Socceroos camp but we think it’s important that we prepare well for these Olympic Games Qualifiers as the Olympic Games offer a big opportunity in the development of these younger players,” Postecoglou said.
“Not just Chris and Jackson, there is a number of players in the Olyroos squad we feel could force their way into the Socceroos squad in the coming years.”
Socceroos squad for 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier v Jordan
| Name | Club, Country | A International Caps (Goals) |
| Luke Brattan | Unattached | 0 (0) |
| Nathan Burns | FC Tokyo, Japan | 15 (1) |
| Tim Cahill | Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC, China PR | 85 (41) |
| Alex Cisak (gk) | Leyton Orient FC, England | 0 (0) |
| Jason Davidson | Huddersfield Town AFC, England | 20 (1) |
| Tarek Elrich | Adelaide United, Australia | 2 (0) |
| Adam Federici (gk) | AFC Bournemouth, England | 12 (0) |
| Eugene Galekovic (gk) | Adelaide United, Australia | 8 (0) |
| Tomi Juric | Roda JC Kerkrade, Netherlands | 13 (2) |
| Mathew Leckie | FC Ingolstadt 04, Germany | 27 (2) |
| Massimo Luongo | Queens Park Rangers FC, England | 14 (2) |
| Ryan McGowan | Dundee United, Scotland | 13 (0) |
| Matt McKay | Brisbane Roar, Australia | 57 (2) |
| James Meredith | Bradford City A.F.C. , England | 0 (0) |
| Mark Milligan | Baniyas SC, United Arab Emirates | 42 (4) |
| Aaron Mooy | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 8 (4) |
| Tommy Oar | Ipswich Town FC, England | 24 (2) |
| Tom Rogic | Celtic FC, Scotland | 11 (2) |
| Trent Sainsbury | P.E.C. Zwolle, Netherlands | 11 (1) |
| Matt Spiranovic | Hangzhou Greentown FC, China PR | 29 (0) |
| James Troisi | Al Ittihad FC, Saudi Arabia | 24 (4) |
| Alex Wilkinson | Jeonbuk Hyundai FC, Korea Republic | 15 (0) |
| Bailey Wright | Preston North End, England | 5 (1) |
FIFA World Cup Qualification – AFC – Second Round – Standings
| Group B | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 9 |
| Jordan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 7 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Tajikistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | -11 | 1 |
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