On August 28, our time, the Australian Football Association released through official channels the first two rounds of their team's participation in the Qatar World Qualifying Asian Zone 12 tournament, with a total of 27 players selected. In this, three key players who were absent in the 40-team tournament, such as backbone Muy, who plays for Shanghai Harbour in the Chinese Super League, are back in the lineup. Of note, due to the epidemic, only one of the 27-man roster, defender Ryan Grant, is from the Australian Premier League, meaning that Australian manager Arnold will be relying heavily on overseas players to get the Top 12 off to a good start.
According to the schedule, Australia will host China in the first round of Group B. The match will be played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 9 p.m. local time on Sept. 2 and 2 a.m. our time on the 3rd.
Affected by the outbreak, Australian team manager Arnold was hesitant to call up players. In the end, captain Leckie and star striker McLaren were confirmed to be unavailable for this training session and the first two rounds of the Top 12 tournament.
Leckie's absence hits Arnold particularly hard. Leckie has previously gone on record as saying he will be out of the national team indefinitely due to the very epidemic and quarantine policy on entry and exit of personnel that has forced players participating in the 12-team tournament to face the reality of being separated from their families for extended periods of time. Leckie himself has recently moved from the German league to the AFL, and will need to care for his German-born wife and two children.
Compared to the lineups that participated in the second half of the Top 40, the most notable change in Australia's current training and playing lineups is the return of all the important players who were absent in the Top 40, such as Muay, Rogic and Alzani. Arnold is confident about leading his team to victory in the first two rounds of the tournament, and even said that he will lead his team to win all three points in the first match against China.
Here is the 27-man Australian squad:
Goalkeepers: Matthew Ryan (La Liga, Real Sociedad), Vukovic (Netherlands, NEC Nijmegen), Laurence Thomas (Danish Premier League, Sandjeski), Paul Izzo (Greece, Ksansi Athletic)
Defenders: Bailey Wright (Eredivisie, Sunderland), Ryan Strain (Israeli Premier League, Maccabi Haifa), Callum Adel (Championship, Hull City), Ryan McGovern (Kuwait, Kuwait SC), Brad Smith (MLS, Seattle Sounders), Grant (Australian Premier League, Sydney FC), Björn Björncic (Turkish Premier League, Sporting Kirjasen), Degenek (Serbian Premier League. Red Star Belgrade), Sainsbury (BPL, Kortrijk), Souttar (Championship, Stoke City)
MIDFIELD: Jackson Irvine (Hibernian, Scottish Premier League), Kenneth Duggal (Blackpool, League One), Edini Hrstic (Eintracht Frankfurt, Bundesliga), Riley McGrory (Birmingham City, Championship), Denis Genro (Toulouse, Ligue 2), Aron Mooy (Shanghai Harbour, Chinese Super League), Tom Rogic (Celtic, Scottish Premier League), James Jego (OFC. Vienna)
Forwards: Daniel Arzani (BPL, Lommel SK), Duke (J2 League, Green Pheasant Okayama), Mabiel (Danish Premier League, Midtjylland), Boyle (SUP, Hibernian), Taggart (J League, Cerezo Osaka)
