Fornaroli, Ryan in Socceroos’ Asian Cup squad, but no Leckie or Circati
Bruno Fornaroli and Thomas Deng will be at the Asian Cup. Mat Leckie and Alessandro Circati won't. And there will be potential debuts for John Iredale, Patrick Yazbek, and Gethin Jones.
Bruno Fornaroli, Lawrence Thomas, Kusini Yengi, and Thomas Deng will be at the Asian Cup. Mat Leckie, Alessandro Circati, and Alex Robertson will not. And there will be potential international debuts for uncapped trio John Iredale, Patrick Yazbek, and Gethin Jones.
Boosted by an eleventh-hour decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to increase squad sizes by three, coach Graham Arnold unveiled his 26-player squad for next month’s tournament on Tuesday, featuring 15 players with ten or fewer senior international caps.
SV Wehen Wiesbaden striker Iredale (24), Viking FK midfielder Yazbek (21), and Bolton Wanderers defender Jones (28) will all have their chance to make their first appearances for the Socceroos in Qatar – Perth-born Jones the latest in the long line of players snagged from other nations by Arnold, having represented Wales as a junior.
Iredale appears to be the beneficiary of the hamstring injury picked up by Leckie that ruled him out of action for four to six weeks and his Melbourne City teammate Jamie Maclaren’s omission, joining Yengi, Duke, and Fornaroli as Arnold’s striking options. Martin Boyle, Craig Goodwin, Riley McGree, Sam Silvera, Marco Tilio, Connor Metcalfe and Jordy Bos will provide depth on the flanks.
Former Sydney FC prospect Yazbek, meanwhile, has come into the frame in the wake of Massimo Luongo’s international retirement and continued groin problems for Denis Genreau, joining Jackson Irvine, Keanu Baccus, Aiden O’Neill, McGree, and Metcalfe in central midfield.
Despite recently suffering a fractured cheekbone with club side AZ Alkmaar, skipper Mat Ryan has been selected to lead the team to Qatar; the 31-year-old expected to wear a protective face mask and start individual work with goalkeeping coach John Crawley after arriving in Abu Dhabi on January 1.
He will be backed up by A-League Men duo Thomas and Guaci, with the pair rewarded for their strong early season form with Western Sydney and Adelaide United respectively.
The returning Deng — who will also provide depth behind Atkinson and Lewis Miller at right-back — joins Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, and Cameron Burgess as centre-back options – a group in which Parma defender Circati is a notable absence.
He and fellow 20-year-old midfielder Robertson, who is on loan at League One side Portsmouth from Premier League outfit Manchester City, had been widely tipped to be part of Arnold’s squad.
Both, however, appear to have fallen afoul of the awkward juggling act national team staff are being forced to confront in the planning of this tournament.
The duo have established themselves as first-team regulars in Italy and England across the opening months of their campaigns but would have been no guarantees of maintaining their places had they missed up to six weeks of football – circumstances that European clubs have historically not been shy in reminding Australian players of.
Additionally, both Circati and Robertson maintain eligibility for the Olyroos, who will attempt to qualify for the Paris Olympics at the AFC U23 Championships in April – a tournament for which clubs are not compelled to release players but which is looked upon more favourably due to guaranteed minutes for young players and the potential shop window of the Olympics.
Conversely, a player such as Tilio, who has been called up for the squad despite limited minutes at Celtic, is unlikely to fall too much further down the pecking order at clubland and can use an extended period with the national team to work towards Paris and potentially improve their stocks for a potential loan move.
It’s a scenario that speaks to the numerous challenges that Arnold has been forced to confront leading into this tournament, which was initially scheduled to take place in mid-2023 in China, only to be moved after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to re-evaluate its ability to host.
This shift forced the Australian coach to move his plans for rejuvenating his squad into something of a halfway house until after the continental competition as well as confront the headaches of a major tournament taking place in the middle of the European club season.
With eight goals in 12 matches for Melbourne Victory this A-League Men season, Fornaroli gave Arnold another conundrum in earning his deserved call-up.
At 36 years old, the veteran isn’t a long- or even medium-term option for the national side and thanks to the A-League Men’s awkward positioning on the calendar and relatively short length, will be out of season for World Cup qualifiers later this year.
However, his form and regular minutes at Victory made it almost impossible for the Uruguayan-born striker to not be picked – not the least because of the message that would have been sent by Arnold after making the importance of those a major part of his rhetoric.
SOCCEROOS SQUAD FOR THE ASIAN CUP:
Nathaniel Atkinson, Keanu Baccus, Aziz Behich, Jordy Bos, Martin Boyle, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng, Mitchell Duke, Bruno Fornaroli, Joe Gauci (Gk), Craig Goodwin, John Iredale, Jackson Irvine, Gethin Jones, Riley Mcgree, Connor Metcalfe, Lewis Miller, Aiden O’Neill, Kye Rowles, Mathew Ryan (Gk) (Cpt), Sam Silvera, Harry Souttar, Lawrence Thomas (Gk), Marco Tilio, Patrick Yazbek, Kusini Yengi