Australia’s head coach Graham Arnold has selected 18-year-old forward Garang Kuol despite his lack of professional experience but left veteran goalkeeper Mitch Langerak out of his 26-man Socceroos squad for the World Cup.
Goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and Mathew Leckie were picked for a third World Cup, with Ryan leading the squad in Qatar.
Kuol is among the 17 players selected for a World Cup for the first time. He made just one appearance off the bench in a friendly against New Zealand in September but showed enough potential to convince Arnold he’s a potential star of the future. He scored four goals in his first seven appearances off the bench for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia’s A-League.
Arnold said 32 players had made a debut for Australia over the last four years and 68 players were picked for national duties in that time, with the bulk of World Cup qualifying games played away from home because of travel restrictions in place in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia clinched its spot at a fifth consecutive World Cup after back-to-back knockout wins, beating the United Arab Emirates in an Asian playoff before edging Peru on penalties in the intercontinental playoff.
Australia kicks off is Group D campaign against defending champion France on Nov. 22.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Andrew Redmayne, Danny Vukovic.
Defenders: Nathaniel Atkinson, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Thomas Deng, Fran Karcic, Joel King, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Bailey Wright.
Midfielders: Keanu Baccas, Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy,
Forwards: Martin Boyle, Jason Cummings, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Garang Kuol, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren.
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