"There is no sales pitch" - Luongo returns to Socceroos in Popovic's first squad.
Tony Popovic has denied there was any special sales pitch to secure Massimo Luongo’s return to the Socceroos after the midfielder was named in the new coach’s inaugural 26-player squad for World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.
Lungo, 32, previously stepped away from the national team setup before the Asian Cup to focus on Ipswich Town’s ultimately successful push for promotion to the Premier League but has re-joined the national setup for the remainder of the qualification cycle.
Popovic said he hadn’t been in contact with Luongo before the call-up, instead saying that those talks had taken place with others in the federation, and that there had been no concerted push to bring him back into the fold.
“If we have to sell the Socceroos jersey, we have a problem,” said the coach. “There is no sales pitch. If a player makes himself available for selection and if he is chosen, that should be enough for every player.
“For this camp, we’ve got 26 players. Which is a little more than we usually select. But with my first camp, it would be good to bring in a few extra players to see how they are. A couple of boys are coming back from injury.
“But I would be worried if I had to sell to a player a reason to play for the Socceroos. I would never do it.
“If you’re selected, you should be honoured. You should be privileged to come and play for your country.
“If that’s an issue for any other player, I’d advise themselves to not make themselves available.”
Luongo leads a host of returning and fresh faces in the squad, with Popovic also calling upon Melbourne Victory trio Jason Geria, Daniel Arzani, and Nishan Velupillay – the latter of whom is in line to make his senior international debut – after coaching them in the last A-League Men season.
Previously telling JDL Media that Popovic’s arrival brought “hope” to a cohort of players that had been on the fringes of the Socceroos’ setup, Geria will add to a lone cap secured in 2016 if he features in the coming games.
Arzani’s absence from Patrick Kisnorbo’s side for last week’s Australia Cup final hasn’t prevented his return after last featuring against Bangladesh in June, while Velupillay has earned a maiden call-up after scoring five goals and registering two assists across 436 minutes — 97% of the those available — in that Cup run.
Attackers Riley McGree, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, and Ajdin Hrustic have all returned to the squad as Popovic looks to kickstart an attack that failed to net against Bahrain and Indonesia during the September international window, while defenders Gianni Stensness and Jordy Bos are also back.
The injured Alessandro Circati (ACL), Kusini Yengi (groin + suspended for China game), and Martin Boyle (wrist) have all dropped out, as have midfielders Josh Nisbet and Cammy Devlin and attackers John Iredale, Adam Taggart, and Awer Mabil.
It is understood that goalkeeper Mitch Langerak was contacted by the federation about making himself for selection but, as first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, the 36-year-old opted to remain in international retirement. Mat Ryan, Joe Gauci, and Paul Izzo remain as the side’s goalkeeping contingent.
There is also no space in the side for NAC Breda midfielder Max Balard, Hibernian utility Nectarios Triantis, or Cardiff City midfielder Alex Robertson — the latter also eligible to represent Scotland, Peru, and England at an international level.
The squad will begin to assemble in the coming days, ahead of Thursday evening’s game against China at Adelaide Oval before jetting out to Tokyo to face off with Japan at Saitama Stadium the following Tuesday.
While the battle with the Samurai Blue looms as a huge early test for Popovic it is the clash with Branko Ivankovic’s China that could provide a defining one: the Socceroos urgently needing three points to get their campaign back on track after losing to Bahrain and drawing with Indonesia last month.
Coming just 20 days after his first-ever international appointment — which represents a sharp divergence from his previous career in clubland — it represents something of a straight-into-the-deep-end moment for the new coach.
“[Limited preparation] will be something [new] for me to understand,” said Popovic. “But we have to adapt.
“From Sunday we get a group of players, another group on Monday, we have to monitor the weekend’s games and hopefully everyone comes through unscathed.
“But as I’m seeing, little issues occur around player availability but we have to find a solution.
“We have to focus on what we can control. It might mean more conversations with players and more video sessions. We have to make sure they’ve recovered well from their weekend games and make sure they know they’re playing for the country.
“I’m sure you can put jet lag aside when you’re representing Australia.”