Socceroos Asian Cup squad: Ikonomidis and Mooy named, no room for Juric

Chris Ikonomidis’ gamble has paid off, the injured Aaron Mooy named, Tomi Juric omitted for continental showpiece.

Chris Ikonomidis has been included in the Socceroos squad for the 2019 Asian Cup. Picture: Getty Images

Chris Ikonomidis’s decision to return to the A-League to shore up his chances of getting back into Socceroos contention has paid off, with the exciting Perth Glory attacker winning a spot in the squad for the Asian Cup finals in the UAE next month.

As foreshadowed by The Australian on Wednesday, Ikonomidis has been rewarded for his stellar form in the A-League with Graham Arnold naming him in the 23-man Socceroos squad that will be looking to defend the title they won on home soil in 2015.

Ikonomidis took the bold step of signing with Glory after spending three seasons in Europe with Italian Serie A club Lazio, where he was restricted to two appearances in the Europa League, then on loan in the Italian Serie B and in Denmark. In between he had a 10-game stint at Western Sydney Wanderers before returning to Italy in April.

Tomi Juric has missed out on the Asian Cup. Picture: Toby Zerna

But, determined to crack a spot at the Asian Cup, he decided to return to Australia. He has been one of the stand out performers in the A-League this season, scoring five goals in just eight appearances and taking huge benefit from the coach of Tony Popovic.

Arnold was full of praise for the attacker.

“Chris has made a great start to his time at Perth Glory under Tony Popovic and it has been his form in the A-League that has sealed his place,” he said. “Chris will add pace and energy to our attack, which is the consistent feature of the players that we have picked for this tournament.”

Ikonomidis is one of only three players from the A-League to make the squad, joined by Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC) and Josh Risdon (Western Sydney).

Tomi Juric, James Troisi and Terry Antonis were the notable omissions from the squad. Troisi and Juric combined for the winning goal in the 2015 Asian Cup final, but Juric suffered from a lack of game time with Swiss club FC Luzern.

”I had a really good conversation with Tomi … he’s disappointed of course,” Arnold said.

“But this squad is about this tournament and winning every game … He understands that and that he needs to be playing club football regularly.”

Melbourne Victory teammates Antonis and Troisi have made a strong start to the season with the reigning A-League champions.

As expected, Arnold also included injured midfielder Aaron Mooy despite the fact he has been ruled out for up to eight weeks by his English Premier League side Huddersfield Town. Arnold said he expects Mooy will be fit in time to play some part in the tournament.

The Socceroos are sending medical staff to England to assess the injury for themselves before making a final decision.

“Aaron wants to play for Huddersfield and for the Socceroos at the Asian Cup, so we will give him every chance,” Arnold said. “Huddersfield have been fantastic with us and we have no issues with them. They are happy for us to look at him independently.”

Aaron Mooy has been included in the Socceroos squad for the Asian Cup. Picture: Getty Images

Arnold said he would like to know a final decision within days so he can move on with preparations for the Cup.

Arnold has selected an impressive squad that has an average age of 26.

“Our squad blends youth with experience,” Arnold said. “Individually and collectively the players are determined to excel at the tournament and following the three positive camps that we have had since September, I know that Australia will enter the Asian Cup with the best camaraderie in the competition.

“It is exciting that 15 of the 23 players in the squad will be being attending their first Asian Cup, and I am expecting that Australian fans will see some great performances from our kids throughout the tournament.

“In the short amount of time I have had in charge I feel that we have come a long way, and we will travel to the UAE expecting to win every match and ultimately lift the trophy in early February in Abu Dhabi.”

The squad will assemble in the UAE for Australia’s pre-tournament training camp from December 26 and will open their Cup campaign against Jordan at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on January 6.

Arnold said a number of players won’t arrive in camp until they have played for their club sides on Boxing Day.

Socceroos squad for the 2019 Asian Cup

Goalkeepers: Mitch Langerak, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic
Defenders: Mark Milligan (c), Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Alex Gersbach, Rhyan Grant, Matt Jurman, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury
Midfielders: Mustafa Amini, Jackson Irvine, Massimo Luongo, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic
Forwards: Martin Boyle, Chris Ikonomidis, Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout