City stars Mathew Leckie and Jamie Maclaren will be off to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022 after being named in Graham Arnold’s 26-man squad on Tuesday afternoon.
Their selection comes following strong starts to the 2022/23 season, Leckie already having racked up multiple Player of the Match awards while Maclaren has already netted seven goals in just five games.
It will be a third consecutive World Cup for Leckie after the Socceroos veteran played every minute at the past two campaigns.
Maclaren will be involved in a World Cup squad for the second time but will be aiming to see his first minutes on football’s biggest stage this time around after not making it onto the pitch in Russia following a late call-up to the squad.
They are joined in the squad by former teammate and City Academy product Nathaniel Atkinson, who is bound for a first World Cup selection after securing a move to Europe earlier this year.
The World Cup squad also features an additional five players who have been through the doors at Melbourne City at some point in their career, with; Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy and Andrew Redmayne all bound for Qatar.
The Socceroos will face France, Tunisia and Denmark in Group D and all matches will be available to watch live and free on SBS.
Maclaren and Leckie remain available for selection in City’s final match before the World Cup break away to Newcastle Jets this Saturday.
Socceroos World Cup fixture
France v Australia
23 November 2022, 6:00am kick-off (AEDT)
Al Wakrah Stadium
Tunisia v Australia
26 November 2022, 9:00pm kick-off (AEDT)
Al Wakrah Stadium
Australia v Denmark
1 December 2022, 2:00am kick-off (AEDT)
Al Wakrah Stadium
