Soccer-Luongo comes out of international retirement to join Popovic's Australia
MELBOURNE, Oct 4 (Reuters) -New Australia coach Tony Popovic has coaxed Massimo Luongo out of international retirement and included the England-based midfielder in his first squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.
Luongo quit the Socceroos last December when he was set to be picked in former boss Graham Arnold's Asian Cup squad, citing a need to preserve his body as his club Ipswich Town pushed for promotion into the Premier League.
The 32-year-old, capped 45 times for Australia with six goals, was named in a 26-man squad on Friday for next week's home qualifier against China in Adelaide and the away clash against Japan on Oct. 15.
He joins Ipswich Town teammate and central defender Cameron Burgess in Popovic's first squad. Arnold quit after six years in charge following a poor start to the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Luongo adds midfield depth to a team that suffered a rare home loss to Bahrain and were held 0-0 away to soccer minnows Indonesia.
"We’re at the beginning of an exciting journey, and it's an honour to lead this group of players," Popovic said in a statement.
"This October window offers a great opportunity to showcase a vast improvement, both in our desire and in the quality of our play."
Australia lie fifth in Group C of Asian qualifying, one point ahead of sixth-placed China who are also winless after a 2-1 loss at home to Saudi Arabia and a 7-0 humiliation away to Japan.
The top two teams in the group earn automatic qualification for the 2026 finals in North America.
Popovic included a slew of players he coached recently at Melbourne Victory, including uncapped winger Nishan Velupillay and full back Jason Geria, who earns his first call-up since his sole Australia appearance in 2016.
Midfielder Riley McGree, defender Jordan Bos and one-cap striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos have also returned after missing recent international windows with injuries.
Australia squad:
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Joe Gauci, Paul Izzo.
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Thomas Deng, Jason Geria, Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Gianni Stensness.
Midfielders: Keanu Baccus, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Massimo Luongo, Riley McGree, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O'Neill.
Forwards: Daniel Arzani, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Nestory Irankunda, Sam Silvera, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Nishan Velupillay.
Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
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