Postecoglou recalls key Socceroos trio

James Troisi, Tomi Juric and Trent Sainsbury are back in the Australian squad for a crunch World Cup qualifying match with Jordan next month.

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has returned a trio of Asian Cup winners to his squad for a crucial World Cup qualifier with Jordan next month.

James Troisi, Tomi Juric and Trent Sainsbury have been named in Australia's 23-man squad for the October 8 match in Amman, which Postecoglou said was the toughest assignment of their 2018 World Cup qualifying task so far.

Joining them is a surprise inclusion - uncapped left-back James Meredith, who plays with Bradford City in England's third tier.

If Australia can win the match over their closest Group B rival they will take a stranglehold on the group, keeping them on track for the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Making way for the four inclusions are Jackson Irvine, Chris Ikonomidis (Olyroos duty), Aziz Behich and Ben Halloran.

Still missing are captain Mile Jedinak, first-choice goalkeeper Mat Ryan and key forward Robbie Kruse.

Postecoglou said he was close to calling up his skipper despite a recurrence of a hamstring problem.

"At a stretch he might of made this camp, but because he's had that setback maybe coming back too early, I think it's wise to us to make sure Mile's 100 per cent and right for the November games," he said.

Postecoglou said he was hopeful the key three would return for November qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan in Canberra and Bangladesh away.

He suggested Meredith's selection came partially as he was seeking answers to a problem position.

"I still think the full-back positions are an area where we don't have as much depth as other areas of the park," he said.

"It's served us well in the past to bring guys in and see how they look in our environment."

The Socceroos lost 2-1 on their last visit to Jordan in 2012, their most recent World Cup qualifying defeat.

Australia sit top of the group with three wins from as many games, followed by Jordan two points back.

Postecoglou said the match would be a great test.

"The atmosphere will be fairly hostile ... I'm kinda looking forward to it because I believe we're making progress."

Socceroos squad:


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Source: AAP


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