Football Australia, the official football governing body, on November 8 (Tuesday) announced the final World Cup squad. Manager Graham Arnold unveiled the 26-men team, which has also thrown some surprises. In recent years, Australia have been brilliantly qualifying for every tournament since 2006.
The Socceroos are in Group D with defending champions France, Denmark, and Tunisia. And will be looking to at least qualify for the Round of 16. This is because Australia chose to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on January 1 2006, leaving the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). And the decision has seemed to pay off, with Australia qualifying for five consecutive World Cup finals.
So, who has made the cut for the Australian World Cup squad and who has missed out?
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Australia World Cup squad
Three significant omissions from Australia’s World Cup squad were centre-back Trent Sainsbury, attacking midfielder Tom Rogic, and goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak. Sainsbury has made 58 appearances for the national team, while Rogic plays for EFL side West Bromwich Albion, and Langerak is the most experienced shot-stopper in the nation.
Instead of Langerak, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic, and Andrew Redmayne made the cut, with Ryan being named as captain. Graham Arnold has opted for the solid defensive duo of Harry Souttar and Sunderland’s Bailey Wright. They will be starters for the centre-back spots, with Aziz Behich and Fran Karacic being favourites for the left-back and right-back spots, respectively. Other players in the backline are Milos Degenek, Nathaniel Atkinson, Thomas Deng, Kye Rowles, and Joel King.
In midfield, Australia will have their best player in Celtic’s Aaron Mooy, who will be tasked with controlling the game’s tempo. And he will have support from Jackson Irvine, Ajdin Hrustic, and Riley McGree. Irvine’s responsibility will be to do the dirty work as the other midfielders work their magic up the field. The final two spots in the midfield have gone to Adelaide United’s Riley McGree and St Mirren’s Keanu Baccus.
However, in attack, Graham Arnold has sprung a surprise by naming 18-year-old Garang Kuol. The Central Coast Mariners striker is one of Australia’s brightest talents and will join Eddie…
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