Uncapped midfielder James Jeggo has been called up to the Australia squad for the World Cup qualifiers with Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Jeggo’s inclusion is one of three changes made to the squad by Ange Postecoglou, with defender Bailey Wright and winger Craig Goodwin also selected.
Wright missed out on the squad for the qualifying victories over Iraq and the United Arab Emirates because of injury, with Josh Risdon taking his place.
But Risdon has been omitted from the group this time around, along with Apo Giannou and Nathan Burns.
Jeggo has played all eight league games this season for a Sturm Graz side that sits top of the Austrian Bundesliga.
“We’ve made a couple of slight tweaks to the squad in line with our mantra of selecting players who are in form and fitness and we’d like to have a good look at Craig Goodwin and James Jeggo, who have started their seasons well in Europe,” Postecoglou said.
“When the draw was released we acknowledged that this window was a real challenge with a very tough away game followed by the clash with Japan at home but that doesn’t mean we stray from the way we prepare ourselves for every match.
“These two games come pretty quickly after the two matches we played against Iraq and the UAE and we face similar challenges against tough opposition but we are confident in our processes and planning.”
The Socceroos are top of Group B in what is the final round-robin stage of AFC qualification for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
Australia take on Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on October 6 before hosting Japan in Melbourne five days later.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Adam Federici (Bournemouth), Mitchell Langerak (Stuttgart), Mathew Ryan (Valencia)
Defenders: Milos Degenek (1860 Munich), Alex Gersbach (Rosbenborg), Ryan McGowan (Henan Jianye), Trent Sainsbury (Jiangsu Suning), Brad Smith (Bournemouth), Matthew Spiranovic (Hangzhou Greentown), Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
Midfielders: Craig Goodwin (Sparta Rotterdam), Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa), James Jeggo (Sturm Graz), Massimo Luongo (QPR), Mark Milligan (Baniyas), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town), Tommy Rogic (Celtic)
Forwards: Tim Cahill (Melbourne City), Chris Ikonomidis (Aarhus), Tomi Juric (Luzern), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Mathew Leckie (Ingolstadt).
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