“Riley is in great form at Birmingham. They’re desperate for him to stay,” Arnold said.

“I was in the UK,I got to see him play live,and I know how much the fans love him. He’s in a competition,the Championship,that plays 46 rounds a year plus cup football. His body’s just developed enormously,like a true professional sportsman.

“Riley has a great option in front of him - obviously he’s meant to go across to the MLS,but with Birmingham trying to get him to stay for another year it shows that he’s doing exceptionally well. The decision ends up being down to the kid and his agent and what the contract says,but I’m very,very happy if he stays and continues playing in the Championship.”

With Rogic injured,Mooy quarantining in China,and striker Adam Taggart also hobbled by a knee problem,Arnold will have to make at least three changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Japan last month - and there is a strong case for McGree to be part of the action at CommBank Stadium,where the Socceroos will be playing on home soil for the first time in more than two years.

But Arnold denied that the performance itself was of any major concern for Australia,and spoke of how he watched Japan get an extra boost from playing in front of a home crowd.

“They hadn’t walked out in front of a crowd for a long,long time ... the energy the Japanese fans brought to the game,that helped them with that great start they had,” he said.

“I expect the same thing on Thursday night here in Sydney. We need a full stadium - get behind these boys who have committed a lot to Australian football. I’m appealing to all the fans here in Australia to get to the stadium. It’s going to be a fantastic night,the Socceroos are back in town. We can’t wait.”

Aside from the uncapped Gianni Stensness,there were few other surprises in the 24-man squad named on Friday. Attacker Martin Boyle was named,despite being named a close contact after a COVID-19 outbreak at his Scottish club Hibernian. Arnold was confident he will be cleared to travel and said Football Australia was in talks with Scottish authorities about his movement.

After facing the unbeaten Saudis,who are top of Group B,the Socceroos will travel to the UAE for a clash against China on November 16. Two wins would make them almost certain to qualify for the next World Cup - but any slips would pull them back to the chasing pack and put them at risk of missing out on the two direct qualification slots for Qatar 2022.

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