Australia named a strong 23-person team on Thursday for their upcoming Group I FIFA World Cup qualifier games against Bangladesh and Palestine.
Australia is the favourite to win their group, which has four teams: Palestine, Lebanon, and Australia. On November 16, Australia will play Bangladesh in Melbourne for their first match in the qualifiers.
Graham Arnold, the coach of Australia, has called up Kusini Yengi, a forward, and Ashley Maynard-Brewer, a custodian, both of whom are 24 years old. Andrew Redmayne and Milos Degenek, two more experienced players, have been left out.
“It’s important that we build and maintain a momentum that will see us be successful throughout this campaign and beyond,” said Arnold.
“We’re all really looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd, the connection we have with our fans and the energy and support they bring is a huge driver for us – I know the players can’t wait,” he said.
The Bangladesh team is going to Australia on Friday. In the pre-qualifiers, they beat the Maldives.
There will be no more games for Bangladesh until November 21, when they play Lebanon at home.
The Australia team is made up of Mat Ryan, Joe Gauci, and Ashley Maynard-Brewer*; Aziz Behich, Jordy Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, and Ryan Strain; Keanu Baccus, Jackson Irvine, Massimo Luongo, Connor Metcalfe, and Aiden O’Neill; Brandon Borrello, Martin Boyle, Mitch Duke, Craig Goodwin, Jamie Maclaren, Sam Silvera, and Kusini Yengi.