Cameron Burgess, an Ipswich Town defender, has been selected to Australia’s World Cup qualifying team for March.
The Socceroos are hoping to bounce back from their devastating Asian Cup exit. They were among the favourites to win the event, winning their group and defeating Indonesia 4-0 in the round of 16, but were eliminated by South Korea in the quarter-finals.
The focus now shifts to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which they will be confident of completing given that they now lead Group I after beating Bangladesh and Palestine in November. They now face two games against Lebanon, both of which will take place in Australia.
On Tuesday, March 21st, Graham Arnold’s men will host them at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium. The allocated away match, which will take place five days later on March 26th, would normally be played in Beirut, but owing to the prevailing crisis in the Middle East, the Cedars have decided to play it at Canberra’s GIO Stadium.
Burgess, who only played twice in the Asian Cup, aims to increase his total of six caps. The 28-year-old will join his national squad after Saturday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday and return in time for Good Friday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers.
Wales has called up Kieffer Moore, Wes Burns, and Nathan Broadhead for their EURO 2024 play-off campaign. Cieran Slicker has been picked to Scotland’s under-21 team for their EURO U-21 qualifier against Kazakhstan.
