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The versatile 23-year-old FC Utrecht midfielder said the A-League’s playing standards have improved dramatically since he last played in Australia in 2010.

And being in the Socceroo camp has underlined that view with a number of locally based players in the squad for Wednesday night’s group World Cup qualifier with Saudi Arabia.

“You see the players coming back. Everyone expected some of these players to be scoring goals for fun,” Sarota told au.fourfourtwo.com in Melbourne.

“It’s not that they’re not good, it’s because the league has come a long way.

“I’ve spoken to some players and people say the A-League isn’t very good when you watch it but when you’re actually on the pitch playing, it’s a very physical league.

“A lot of players in the A-League are athletes. It’s not as easy as people think it might be, especially in these conditions when it can be so hot.”

To reinforce the point, Sarota, who was first capped for the Socceroo in August last year against Wales and has two appearances to his name, said he’d be up for a return to the A-League.

“I’d consider it because the A-League has come on in leaps and bounds,” he said. “But right now I’m just happy to be in the national team and playing overseas.”

Sarota is seen as a future star in the green and gold, and he can play almost any position in the middle of the park, largely because of his club’s Dutch system philosophy.

Part of a three-man line in a 4-3-3, he said his game awareness had improved vastly since arriving in the Netherlands.

“Dutch football has given me a greater understanding of the 4-3-3,” said the former NYL player of the year who left Brisbane Roar in 2010 for the Eredivisie club.

“I play as a defensive mid but we always kind of swap around. It’s good because you might be on the other side of the park so the team just shifts to accommodate your movement.

“The game’s always moving and it means the game’s a lot quicker.”

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