Socceroos set to host Ecuador in two matches during March FIFA international window

The Socceroos are set to return to action in late March against South American nation Ecuador.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold will assemble a squad for games against Ecuador. Picture: Hanna Lassen / Getty Images

Football Australia is set to confirm on Thursday that the Socceroos will meet Ecuador in two games during March’s FIFA international window.

The matches, tipped to be played in Sydney and Melbourne, will be the Socceroos’ first games since the November-December World Cup in Qatar, where they reached the round of 16 before being beaten by eventual champions Argentina.

Ecuador also qualified for the World Cup but failed to progress past the group stage.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is set to name an extended squad by the weekend before reducing his squad to 23 on March 13.

Socceroos (from left) Ivan Franjic, Mathew Leckie and Tim Cahill celebrate a goal against Ecuador in March, 2014. Picture: AFP / Ian Kington

The international window runs from March 20 to March 28.

When re-appointed as Socceroos coach on January 30, Arnold said he intended to reward members of Australia’s World Cup squad with selection for the March matches.

The games will also be the start of the Socceroos’ preparations for the AFC Asian Cup, which is set to take place in Qatar in January next year.

Ecuador’s most recent meeting with the Socceroos was in March 2014 in London, with the South Americans – currently ranked 41st in the world – beating the then-Ange Postecoglou-coached Australians 4-3.