Australia manager Graham Arnold has made the bold decision to omit his own son-in-law Trent Sainsbury from the Socceroos Qatar World Cup squad.
Meanwhile, he has opted to hand teenager Garang Kuol a place in the squad despite the fact he is yet to make a single league appearance so far this term. Koul is set to join Newcastle in January from Aussie outfit Central Coast Mariners and has represented his current club side against Barcelona in an A-League All-Star game.
Arnold revealed who is in his 26-man squad on Monday with the opening game of the World Cup less than a fortnight away. Seasoned defender Sainsbury did not make the cut, despite having a close relation to the boss via being the husband of his daughter Elissa.
Sainsbury first featured for his country in 2014 and has since gone on to make 54 appearances for Australia. Nowadays, the defender plies his trade for Al-Wakrah - coincidentally based in Qatar. Unfortunately for him, he won't have the privilege of representing his country in the place he now calls home, which comes as a surprise considering he was named in the World Cup squad for Russia in 2018.
Arnold conceded the call was "one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do" to Fox Sports News, adding: "It was a very, very difficult decision. I spoke to Trent about where he’s at at this moment in time. He hasn’t played for a number of weeks."
Koul's selection is likely to stir some debate considering the 18-year-old has never previously even been in the squad for an international tournament, yet the fact he has already penned a pre-contract agreement with a Premier League side proves his talent.
Without a start for the Marriners this term, Koul also only has one cap for his country to date, which came in the form of a clash against nearby New Zealand back in September. Magpies fans will be keeping a keen eye on how the young forward gets on out in Qatar.
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Arnold seems to be keen on overseeing the ousting of some experienced stars, with West Brom midfielder Tom Rogic also left out of the squad.
The Baggies star withdrew from the team during the Socceroos last phase of qualifying for the competition due to personal reasons. Rogic's form at club level hasn't gone much better, starting just once this term.
Australia's first game of the tournament comes on Tuesday, November 22 against defending champions France. Arnold will be keen to try and better the performance the national team put in four years ago.
Out in Russia four years ago, Australia were eliminated at the group stage following defeats by Peru and France either side of a 1-1 draw against Denmark.
Australia squad : Mat Ryan (captain), Nathaniel Atkinson, Keanu Baccus, Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle, Jason Cummings, Milos Degenek, Thomas Deng, Cameron Devlin, Mitchell Duke, Craig Goodwin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Fran Karacic, Joel King, Garang Kuol, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy, Andrew Redmayne, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Danny Vukovic, Bailey Wright.
