Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has named a 25-man squad for Australia’s next two World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam and Oman over the next two weeks.
Arnold has made 10 changes to his squad that ended last year with multiple disappointing performances that left their World Cup qualifying hopes in jeopardy, Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic the two biggest names back into the side.
However, the 58-year-old has also sprung a number of surprise changes. The un-capped Marco Tilio, Kye Rowles and Joel King have been called up to the squad after all three were members of Arnold’s Olyroos squad in Tokyo.
“I've got a lot of belief and a lot of faith in those kids,” Arnold said.
“I know they can do great things. It's more about consistency and I've seen that this year with them.
“Marco gives you a complete X-factor, either if he starts or comes off the bench where he's one of those players that Australia doesn't have a lot of, that can change a game with one action.”
24 of the 25 squad members will gather in Melbourne over the coming days before taking on Vietnam on Thursday, while midfielder Ajdin Hrustic will miss that clash and instead meet his teammates in the Middle East ahead of their away clash against Oman on February 1.
Now sitting third in Group B, the Socceroos cannot afford any more slip-ups if they want to guarantee a spot in Qatar for the World Cup. Arnold’s men currently trail Saudi Arabi by five points, and Japan by two points.
The man acknowledges the pressure, but said he expects some good performances.
“As I will say to the boys when they turn up here, that (last year’s performances) is all in the past. That's last year,” Arnold said.
“We are here today, where we have everything in our own hands.
“We have four games that we have to play between now and qualifying for Qatar and I expect to win four games.”