Goalkeeper Mathew Ryan will captain his side in Qatar at his third World Cup, coach Graham Arnold confirmed as he announced his 26-man squad for the 2022 tournament on Tuesday.
Defenders Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Jackson Irvine, Jamie MacLaren, Aaron Mooy, and Bailey Wright will return to the international stage marking their second World Cup appearance since.
Nine members of the Tokyo 2020 squad are set to participate in the upcoming football tournament, including the likes of Nathaniel Atkinson, Keanu Baccus, Thomas Deng, Cameron Devlin, and Joel King.
Seventeen players will travel to Qatar to debut in their very first World Cup, encompassing the Socceroos as a young team.
Danny Vukovic is surprisingly named on the roster since the goalkeeper is 37-year-old.
Vukovic has played in only four matches for his club, Central Coast Mariners and currently has the lowest save percentage in the league, having a clean sheet of 5/ 11 shots on target.
“We have worked hard to give younger players an opportunity over the campaign, to expose them to international football, to test them against the best, and I’m thrilled with the development and maturity of this group who now get a chance on the biggest stage possible,” Arnold said.
Australia has qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals on six occasions: in 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. They had also attempted to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 15 times, with their first attempt in 1966 when they lost to North Korea.
World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan (FC Copenhagen), Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC), Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners)
Defenders: Aziz Behich (Dundee United), Milos Degenek (Columbus Crew), Thomas Deng (Aibirex Niigata), Joel King (Odense Boldklub), Nathaniel Atkinson (Hearts), Fran Karacic (Brescia), Harry Souttar (Stoke City), Kye Rowles (Hearts), Craig Goodwin (Adelaide United)
Midfielders: Aaron Mooy (Celtic), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Ajdin Hrustic (Hellas Verona), Bailey Wright (Sunderland), Cameron Devlin (Hearts), Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Keanu Baccus (St Mirren)
Forwards: Awer Mabil (Cadiz), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), James Maclaren (Melbourne City), Jason Cummings (Central Coast Mariners), Mitchell Duke (Fagiano Okayama), Garang Kuol (Central Coast Mariners)
