Socceroos include Hibs forward in squad for pre-World Cup home fixtures

Tony Popovic, manager of the Socceroos, has selected Ante Suto, a Croatia-born forward playing for Hibernian, in the team announced on Thursday for Australias concluding domestic matches ahead of the World Cup.

Suto joins two other players yet to earn a cap in the group for the home encounters scheduled on 27 March versus Cameroon and on 31 March against Curacao, another team in the World Cup qualification process.

Those additional newcomers consist of Deni Juric, a forward operating from Poland, and Lucas Herrington, a young talent from Brisbane.

Mohamed Toure, the Norwich forward and EFL Young Player of the Month for February, remains sidelined by a groin issue.

Key midfielder Jackson Irvine, often serving as captain, will be unavailable too while he heals from a foot problem picked up during his time with St Pauli in Germany.

The team gains a lift from the comeback of Aziz Behich, a defender with 81 appearances, marking his return since June of the previous year.

Born and brought up in Croatia, the 25 year old Suto possesses Australian citizenship via his father.

Suto, eligible for Croatia as well and having netted three times in six outings for Hibs, holds an Australian passport.

Popovic commented, These encounters represent our concluding games prior to the World Cup preparation phase, and we weighed numerous elements when choosing this lineup.

For numerous individuals, this gathering offers further chance to don the Socceroos colours.

That said, we have brought in fresh talent too, given this serves as our ultimate occasion to observe players in person before the World Cup preparation.