Bayern Munich-bound prodigy Nestory Irankunda is poised to make his Socceroos debut following confirmation of his selection in Australia’s squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Palestine.
National coach Graham Arnold on Wednesday named a 25-man squad, and it included teenage sensation Irankunda, as well as former whiz-kid Daniel Arzani, who hasn’t played for the Socceroos since the 2018 World Cup.
Arzani, 25, has earnt his recall after helping Melbourne Victory reach the A-League grand final, while Irankunda – who will leave Adelaide United to join German giants Bayern Munich – was part of the A-League All-Stars squad that beat a severely weakened Newcastle United 8-0 last week.
As revealed by News Corp Australia last week, Socceroos captain and goalkeeper Mat Ryan wasn’t chosen, with Arnold “resting” him.
Overall, there are 11 changes from the squad that beat Lebanon twice in March.
Out are Ryan, injured quartet Brandon Borrello, Craig Goodwin, Riley McGree and Tom Glover, as well as defenders Nathaniel Atkinson and Thomas Deng, midfielder Patrick Yazbek, and attackers Bruno Fornaroli, John Iredale and Sammy Silvera.
Apart from Irankunda and Arzani, coming into the squad are defenders Aziz Behich, Alessandro Circati and Ryan Strain, midfielder Cameron Devlin, uncapped striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, wingers Martin Boyle and Mathew Leckie, and goalkeepers Paul Izzo and Lawrence Thomas.
“We’ve got several players who’ve had significant workloads in recent times, and it’s important we give them a proper break,” Arnold said.
“I want to ensure they’re physically and mentally prepared for another big 12 months of
qualification.
“This has also allowed us to provide opportunities to players who have been performing well at their clubs as we continue to build depth right across the pitch.
“Our leadership group of Jackson (Irvine), Aziz (Behich) Mat (Leckie), Harry (Souttar) and Adam (Taggart) will have an important role to play throughout this camp in welcoming those players, as they demonstrate the core values that are central to the Socceroos’ culture.”
Despite having already qualified for the third round of the Asian Football Confederation World Cup qualifiers, the Socceroos are desperate to beat Bangladesh in Dhaka next Thursday, and Palestine in Perth on June 11 to give them the best possible chance of being among the three nations in pot one for the round-three draw.
“I’ve spoken about how important these two games are when it comes to official FIFA rankings, and while we’ve qualified for round three it’s important that we take all six points,” Arnold said.
“It’s an expectation we set ourselves as a group and as always, getting our mentality right will be crucial to securing two wins and giving ourselves the highest possible ranking ahead of the draw for round three.”
Socceroos squad: Daniel Arzani (Melbourne Victory), Keanu Baccus (Mansfield Town), Aziz Behich (Al-Nassr), Jordy Bos (KVC Westerlo), Martin Boyle (Hibs), Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town), Alessandro Circati (Parma), Cameron Devlin (Hearts), Mitchell Duke (Machida Zelvia), Joe Gauci (Aston Villa), Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles Almelo), Nestory Irankunda (Adelaide United/Bayern Munich), Jackson Irvine (St Pauli), Paul Izzo (Melbourne Victory), Gethin Jones (Bolton Wanderers), Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City), Connor Metcalfe (St. Pauli), Josh Nisbet (Central Coast Mariners), Kye Rowles (Hearts), Harry Souttar (Leicester City), Apostolos Stamatelopoulos (Newcastle Jets), Ryan Strain (St Mirren), Adam Taggart (Perth Glory), Lawrence Thomas (Western Sydney Wanderers), Kusini Yengi (Portsmouth).