Football: The Socceroos have named an extended 25-man squad for their World Cup Qualifiers against Lebanon.
The Socceroos are preparing to take to the field for the first time since their heartbreaking Asian Cup quarterfinal defeat to South Korea, with attention now fully focused on the road to the 2026 World Cup.And as Arnold looks to the future, three potential debutants could get their shot.Arnold has been forced into a difficult balancing act in selecting this squad – just as he did in the Asian Cup in January – over whether or not to select under-23 players.
Parma is hunting promotion to Italy’s Serie B, making it understandable they are reluctant to lose any players in the closing stages of the season. “Alessandro and even Cristian Volpato, exactly the same. They just want to focus on their club careers at this moment in time. I do believe that Alessandro, especially, will play for Australia, and I do believe Cristian will want to play for Australia. It’s just at the moment, the timing is probably not right for them – especially with Alessandro; they’re going for promotion with Parma to get up in Serie A.
Winger Martin Boyle suffered a nasty concussion playing for Hibernian, while veteran left-back Aziz Behich, a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, has suffered an ankle injury. “He called me straight from the dressing room this morning, it’s too early to rule him out,” Arnold said.
Brandon Borrello has recovered from the ankle complaint that ruled him out of the Asian Cup and has been recalled, with the Western Sydney Wanderers attacker hoping his versatility can give him a greater opportunity at the national team level.Kusini Yengi, the 25-year-old striker for Portsmouth in England’s League One, also looms as one to watch this window. He was deployed on the right side of the attack this week against Burton.
Yet Behich is 33 years old, and it is unclear whether he will be capable of playing in the next World Cup in 2026.Bos’ undoubted potential has led many to believe he could lock down the role for the foreseeable future. South Korea's midfielder #26 Yang Hyun-jun is marked by Australia's defender #16 Aziz Behich during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final football match between Australia and South Korea at Al-Janoub Stadium in al-Wakrah, south of Doha, on February 2, 2024. Assuming Arnold does deploy Bos in attack, Kye Rowles is most likely to deputise on the left.
It appears the most likely option for the upcoming pair of matches against Lebanon, which would give Burgess a chance to nail down a position alongside Souttar in the heart of defence. He was an unused substitute at the 2022 World Cup but has fallen down the pecking order since then. All four of his Socceroos appearances came in 2022, and missed out on this window due to only just having recovered from a toe injury.
For now, however, Arnold faces a conundrum over whether to stick with Bos as a winger or shift him to left-back, where he has both the potential and the opportunity to be the long-term answer to a major selection problem.Behind captain Maty Ryan, there are two young goalkeepers: Joe Gauci of Aston Villa and Tom Glover of Middlesbrough.
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