Red-hot Taggart and uncapped Souttar named in Socceroos squad for World Cup qualifier
August 30, 2019 04:54 MYT
Adam Taggart has been rewarded for his goalscoring form with a spot in Australia's squad to face Kuwait in their opening World Cup qualifier.
Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold included former Fulham forward Taggart in his 23-man squad as the Suwon Bluewings star tops the K-League scoring charts with 16 goals.
Taggart – who was in the squad for the 2014 World Cup – returned to the international fold during June's international friendly against Korea Republic.
Uncapped defender Harry Souttar is also in the squad, headlined by Aaron Mooy, Mathew Ryan and Mathew Leckie, for the clash in Kuwait on September 10.
All 23 players in the @Socceroos squad to face Kuwait Details: https://t.co/KqiytGl7pI#GoSocceroos pic.twitter.com/sciOeRLg04
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) August 30, 2019
"I have spent the past month in Europe with one of my Assistants, Rene Meulensteen, watching and speaking with our players and their coaches and we have been delighted with what we have seen and heard," Arnold said on Friday.
Arnold added: "I find it exciting for the Socceroos and the nation that there were so many more players in contention for this squad and am expecting healthy competition for places in the starting side for Kuwait and our upcoming qualification matches as we target a winning start on our journey to Qatar."
The Socceroos are in Group B for the second round of AFC qualifying, alongside Kuwait, Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Nepal.
Australia: Mitch Langerak (Nagoya Grampus), Mathew Ryan (Brighton and Hove Albion), Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC); Aziz Behic (Istanbul Basaksehir), Milos Degenek (Red Star Belgrade), Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC), Trent Sainsbury (Maccabi Haifa), Brad Smith (Seattle Sounders), Harry Souttar (Fleetwood Town); Mustafa Amini (Aarhus), Ajdin Hrustic (FC Groningen), Jackson Irvine (Hull City), James Jeggo (Austria Vienna), Massimo Luongo (Sheffield Wednesday), Mark Milligan (Southend United), Aaron Mooy (Brighton and Hove Albion); Brandon Borrello (Freiburg), Apostolos Giannou (AEK Larnaca), Craig Goodwin (Al-Wehda), Matthew Leckie (Hertha Berlin), Awer Mabil (Midtjylland), Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City), Adam Taggart (Suwon Bluewings).