The Socceroos return to action against upcoming World Cup hosts Canada and the USA from Saturday, in what is Tony Popovic’s third-last opportunity to look at players before submitting his squad for next year’s tournament.

By his own admission he’s continuing to cast the net wide, with four players called up for the first time under his management. Key among those is Alexander Robertson, nearing 30 months from his last Socceroos appearance, having spent the bulk of that period making himself unavailable for selection.

‘Robertson back is very encouraging. Popa said a month ago they called and said ‘I want to play for Australia, I’m available’, and at the first time of asking, Popa’s brought him straight back in. So that’s another young talent to add to our ever growing-ranks’, Daniel Garb told Box2Box.

‘He was disgruntled over something. Maybe he thought amid some good form that England was still a chance for him in terms of making that national squad. Who knows? But thankfully a bit of sanity has prevailed that he’s declared himself available. I don’t think we’ll see any backwards steps from here on in.’

Popovic’s refusal to ‘sell the jersey’ may have seemed a risk – certainly compared to Graham Arnold’s more benevolent approach – but should Robertson’s future be in Green and Gold, Australia will remain firmly on the right side of the dual nationality game in recent times.

Harry Souttar & Martin Boyle have been of great value to the national team; of the Aussie-raised talents who were eligible elsewhere, Nestor Irankunda and Ale Circati look bolted on for the next decade. Adrian Segecic has surprisingly been left out here, while Nectar Triantis has not been called up for Greece as yet. Perhaps only Cristian Volpato is set to truly resist.

‘The omission of Adrian Segecic is surprising. He’s doing well for Portsmouth, so it’s hard to understand why he’s not in the squad right now.You’d be surprised if he’s not included in the next one’, said Garb.

‘They’re going to be tricky games. Canada’s in really good form, while the USA has a strong squad. They’re not going that well under Mauricio Pochettino but they’ve obviously got great quality, and they’re both in their own backyards. So it’s the perfect test and acclimatisation international window for us.’

Also in the squad is Nick D’Agostino, who’s been dogged by injuries at Norwegian club Viking FK, but looks to have put that behind him to stake a late claim for the No.9 jersey. Here Popovic has options, but none have been able to gap the field and demand selection to this point.

Mo Toure looks to be tentatively leading after his brace against New Zealand, although he heads into camp under an injury cloud; that 34-year old Mitch Duke is doggedly clinging to his international career should come as no surprise, given the determination with which he’s played his football.

‘It’s the usual case for us when it comes to the No.9s. Mo Toure had an excellent window last time out, so he’s probably the incumbent in terms of the central striking role. There’s so many options, but no one you have a huge amount of confidence in when it comes to scoring a goal at a World Cup. But like Duke did in Qatar, maybe someone will bob up.’

‘Duke’s hanging on. He’s the whipping boy at the moment, which I don’t quite like. If you don’t think Mitch Duke is deserving of a place in the squad, that’s okay. But just remember, it was only a couple of years ago when Mitch Duke led the line with aplomb for Australia at a World Cup, scored a brilliant goal against Tunisia, fought as hard as you could possibly fight, and was fantastic when it really counted.’

Most concerning for the Socceroos is the continued absence of Jackson Irvine, who’s suffered a setback to the foot injury that kept him out of the back end of last season with St Pauli. Now a senior statesman at 32, his undoubted leadership should work in his favour as he looks to earn a place at a third World Cup even if he’s not at optimum fitness, as it did for Mile Jedinak at stages late in his career.

‘It’s getting to the stage now where they’re piling up a little bit, the injuries. But I think he’s just such an important player for the squad; some players, the intangibles are just so strong, and I think Jackson carries that within the Socceroos setup. He’s a real leader, someone the youngsters look up to and can work around. Hopefully he can get back to it soon.’