Four stars from one Scottish football club called up by nation ahead of date with World Cup destiny

Popovic keen to run rule over several SPFL players

Hibs’ exploits in the Scottish Premiership have not gone unnoticed by Australia manager Tony Popovic after he called up four Easter Road players for a training camp ahead of their World Cup qualifiers next month.

Fresh for clinching third place in the top flight of Scottish football, Hibs quartet Lewis Miller, Jack Iredale, Nectarios Triantis and Martin Boyle have been summoned by Popovic for a stint in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Socceroos’ final World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

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Popovic wants to run the rule over players before settling on a squad the week commencing May 26 and has asked 23 Australians who do not have club commitments to travel to the United Arab Emirates next week and stake their claim.

Hibs defender Miller and striker Boyle are regular fixtures in the Australia squad, but midfielder Triantis remains uncapped after his maiden call-up back in March, while this will be Iredale’s first selection by his country. The former Morton and Bolton left-sided defender has been one of Hibs’ most impressive players this season.

Hibs duo Nectarios Triantis and Jack Iredale are in the Australia set-up.Hibs duo Nectarios Triantis and Jack Iredale are in the Australia set-up.
Hibs duo Nectarios Triantis and Jack Iredale are in the Australia set-up. | SNS Group

There is a heavy SPFL presence in the Australia group. Dundee United right-back Ryan Strain has been picked, while Aberdeen-bound winger Nicolas Milanovic has also been selected. Hearts midfield duo Cammy Devlin and Calem Nieuwenhof have again missed out, while former St Mirren man Keanu Baccus - now at Mansfield - retains his place.

On the training camp, Popovic said: “Firstly, I’m very grateful to Football Australia for their support with this training camp which is invaluable for the players and staff ahead of our games in June.

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“We’ve got players finishing up their seasons at a range of different times, so it’s important they remain physically and mentally sharp in the weeks leading up to the final squad selection. I'm looking forward to the chance to work together for an extended period.

“There are also a lot of players who are currently in-season with their clubs, and we’ll be monitoring them closely over the coming weeks.

Australia’s World Cup bid

Australia are currently second in Group C of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, three points ahead of nearest challengers Saudi Arabia. They face Japan in Perth on Thursday, June 5 before heading to Jeddah on Tuesday, June 10 in what could be a direct shoot-out for the one remaining automatic spot behind the already qualified Japanese, who may call up Celtic duo Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda for the final matches.

Should Australia finish third in their group, they would face a play-off to reach the finals in USA, Mexico and Canada next summer.

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