Coach Graham Arnold admits taking punts on form and fitness while snubbing past favourites in Australia's World Cup squad.
A-League Men's whizz-kid Garang Kuol and his Central Coast teammate Jason Cummings are among a 26-man squad featuring 10 players with five or less international caps.
Kuol's fellow 18-year-old, the Sydney-born and Italy-based Cristian Volpato, rejected a last-ditch plea for Arnold to join the Socceroos.
"I spoke to Christian yesterday three times," Arnold told reporters on Tuesday.
"I pretty much told him yesterday that he was in the 26-man squad ... he declined the offer."
Arnold overlooked former Socceroos captain and his son-in-law Trent Sainsbury, Tom Rogic and Mitch Langerak for the showpiece tournament starting November 20 in Qatar.
Midfield linchpin Ajdin Hrustic (ankle), winger Martin Boyle (knee) and defenders Harry Souttar (knee), Kye Rowles (foot) and Nathaniel Atkinson were included despite their ailments.
And the likes of captain Mat Ryan, who with Mathew Leckie will play at a third World Cup, and Awer Mabil will enter Qatar with limited recent game-time.
"They are risks," Arnold told reporters on Tuesday.
"But this is what it's all about.
"I have taken risks before and I am prepared to do that again ... I have always taken risks as the coach to be successful and this is no different.":
Arnold said Rogic's withdrawal from the Socceroos' last phase of cup qualifying for undisclosed personal reasons had "absolutely" no bearing in overlooking the underdone playmaker.
"Tommy has been absolutely brilliant for Australian football and will continue to be," Arnold said.
Goalkeeper Langerak, despite sustained excellence in Japan's top-flight and coming out of international retirement two months ago, missed selection in consultation with Australia's 'keeping coach.
"We have got a great goalkeeper coach in John Crawley who has a process and studies these goalkeepers and understands these goalkeepers enormously and I have got to trust that process," Arnold said.
Sydney FC's Andrew Redmayne and Central Coast's Danny Vukovic, who have both played under Arnold, were picked as back-ups for first-choice custodian Ryan.
Premier League-bound Kuol has yet to start a game at senior level but Arnold was bullish about the Egypt-born refugee from a Sudanese family.
"When we talk about an impact player, a player who can do something different for us, someone ... that can change a moment of the game, I think Garang Kuol is that one," he said.
Kuol's Scottish-born Mariners teammate Cummings squeezed out Japan-based striker Adam Taggart from the squad.
Cummings, Melbourne City marksman Jamie Maclaren and another Japan-based frontman in Mitchell Duke comprise the strike force.
Adelaide United captain Craig Goodwin is among seven players in the squad from the ALM competition, joining Leckie, Maclaren, Kuol, Cummings, Vukovic and Redmayne.
The Australians begin assembling in Qatar on Saturday with the full squad to train together in Doha for the first time on Monday.
The Socceroos' cup campaign starts against reigning champions France on November 23 (AEDT) with games against Tunisia on November 26 (AEDT) and Denmark on December 1 (AEDT).
