Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Matthew Jurman, Nikita Rukavytsya and Josh Ridson all make the final cut. 

The five players from the Thailand/Japan qualifiers who miss out are Matt Spiranovic, Alex Gersbach, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren and Ryan McGowan. 

Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak will also not be in the squad after failing to recover from a groin injury. 

“I am confident that we have a group of players capable of achieving our goal of progressing to the next stage of qualification,” Postecoglou said.

“As I have mentioned on many occasions, it is important for us to have a large and vocal home crowd for the second match of this series, and I’m sure the boys will appreciate all the support from the local fans.”

The Socceroos face Syria in Malaysia on October 5 before returning to Sydney for the return leg at ANZ Stadium on October 10. 

Full 23-man squad:

Name

Club, Country

A-International Caps (Goals)

Mustafa AMINI

Aarhus Gymnastikforening (AGF), DENMARK

2 (0)

Aziz BEHICH

Bursaspor, TURKEY

16 (2)

Tim CAHILL

Melbourne City FC, AUSTRALIA

102 (48)

Milos DEGENEK

Yokohama F. Marinos, JAPAN

12 (0)

Craig GOODWIN

Sparta Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS

3 (0)

Jackson IRVINE

Hull City AFC, ENGLAND

14 (1)

Tomi JURIC

FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND

28 (8)

Matthew JURMAN

Suwon Samsung Bluewings, KOREA REPUBLIC

0 (0)

Robbie KRUSE

VfL Bochum, GERMANY

57 (4)

Mitchell LANGERAK (GK)

Levante UD, SPAIN

8 (0)

Mathew LECKIE

Hertha BSC, GERMANY

46 (6)

Massimo LUONGO

Queens Park Rangers FC, ENGLAND

30 (5)

Mark MILLIGAN

Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA

61 (6)

Aaron MOOY

Huddersfield Town AFC, ENGLAND

27 (5)

Josh RISDON

Western Sydney Wanderers FC, AUSTRALIA

3 (0)

Tom ROGIC

Celtic FC, SCOTLAND

29 (7)

Nikita RUKAVYTSYA

Maccabi Haifa FC, ISRAEL

13 (1)

Mathew RYAN (GK)

Brighton & Hove Albion FC, ENGLAND

37 (0)

Trent SAINSBURY

Jiangsu Suning FC, CHINA

29 (3)

Brad SMITH

AFC Bournemouth, ENGLAND

18 (0)

James TROISI

Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA

34 (5)

Daniel VUKOVIC (GK)

KRC Genk, BELGIUM

0 (0)

Bailey WRIGHT

Bristol City FC, ENGLAND

19 (1)