Fringe players can lock in World Cup qualifying place with solid effort in South Korea friendly, says Graham Arnold

Enter stage right! Taking on a full-strength South Korea presents promising young Socceroos with a tremendous opportunity to put forward their cases for future selection, says coach Graham Arnold.

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold said Friday’s away friendly against South Korea was a glorious chance for players to reignite their international careers on the eve of World Cup qualifying.

German-based winger Brandon Borrello, Sydney FC’s Brandon O’Neill and one of the goalkeepers (Sydney’s Andrew Redmayne or Melbourne Victory’s Lawrence Thomas) look set to be among up to six uncapped players to debut.

Tottenham star Son Heung-min leads a full-strength South Korea in front of a sold out 56,000 crowd at Busan Asiad Stadium.

With a host of senior ­players rested, the likes of Matthew Spiranovic, Rhys ­Williams, Bailey Wright and Brad Smith have been recalled.

Having now worked with 65 Socceroos and Olyroos since starting almost a year ago, ­Arnold believes he has the depth to cover every position.

“For the junior ones it’s a great opportunity to spark their careers, for the middle aged and older ones it’s a chance to revitalise their careers,’’ Arnold said.

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Matthew Spiranovic gets another chance in the Socceroos line-up.

“These opportunities don’t come often, especially in this type of environment. Most of our games are World Cup qualifiers, so you don’t get many times to experiment and test the depth of the squad.”

“I need to see which players can step up against A-grade opposition.

“For the ones who’ve been here before, you can see why, because they’ve got their quality. Some may have lost their way, through injury or not being in the greatest (club) environment.

“I expect a great performance and a win. We’ve had a very good camp, lot of high energy, high quality training sessions and a lot of good will.”

Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold says the South Korea contest gives the younger players a great opportunity to impress.

While opportunities will be presented, Arnold said caps still must be earnt.

“One new cap will definitely happen with Redmayne or Thomas, other than that it all depends on how the game goes,’’ he said.

“I’m not one just to handout caps for the sake of it, they come with lots of pride and honour.”

The Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers start in September.

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Originally published as Fringe players can lock in World Cup qualifying place with solid effort in South Korea friendly, says Graham Arnold