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Central Coast Mariners sensation Garang Kuol has earned his maiden World Cup call-up at just 18 years of age, despite having not started a single professional game in his fledgling football career.
- Graham Arnold has called up a host of emerging Australian players for Qatar including Central Coast Mariners teenager Garang Kuol and Scotland-based midfielders Cameron Devlin and Keanu Baccus
- Veteran players including Trent Sainsbury, Adam Taggart, and Tom Rogic have been left out, as has stand-out goalkeeper Mitch Langerak
- Australia's first game against France kicks off on November 23 at 6:00am AEDT
Kuol, alongside Mariners team-mate Jason Cummings, were two of several unexpected inclusions in Graham Arnold's 26-player squad headed for Qatar after impressing both individually and as an attacking duo in the opening rounds of the A-League Men.
The pair headline a surprising squad that mixes emerging talent with established stars, with 11 of the 26 chosen players having ten caps or fewer.
Scotland-based midfielders Keanu Baccus and Cameron Devlin are part of that new cohort, having made just one appearance each for the Socceroos.
They have, however, played regular minutes for their clubs recently and worked under Arnold with the Under-23s side at the Tokyo Olympics alongside fellow call-ups Nathaniel Atkinson, Joel King, Riley McGree, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, and over-age player Mitchell Duke.
Overall, 17 players will be going to their first World Cup.
The addition of these fresh faces to the squad, however, has meant there is no room for more experienced players including Cerezo Osaka striker Adam Taggart, who took part in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, nor for veteran centre-back and Arnold's son-in-law Trent Sainsbury.
Other A-League Men call-ups include Adelaide United's Craig Goodwin and Melbourne City duo Mathew Leckie and Jamie Maclaren, who will join more established players like Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle, Milos Degenek, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Awer Mabil, Aaron Mooy, and Bailey Wright in the final squad.
While the Kuol-Cummings double-act has landed well amongst fans and promises to provide some much-needed spark to the Socceroos' attack, some other decisions made by Arnold have been widely questioned.
The exclusion of goalkeeper Mitch Langerak from the side has surprised fans given Arnold himself reportedly coaxed the Japan-based gloveman out of retirement recently following consecutive impressive seasons with Nagoya Grampus in the J1 League.
Langerak, who was voted Nagoya's MVP this season, kept 14 clean sheets in 33 games and played more minutes than any other Australian goalkeeper, including Socceroos skipper Mat Ryan and his two chosen deputies, Central Coast's Danny Vukovic and Sydney FC's Andrew Redmayne.
Tom Rogic has also been left out of the squad after missing the Socceroos' final qualification phase, including the play-off games against the UAE and Peru, and who hasn't received many minutes at club level since moving to West Brom in England's Championship.