At stake will be a chance to clinch a spot in Australia's 2007 AFC Asian Cup squad.

The 20-man Qantas Socceroos team named for the international against China to be played in Guangzhou on March 24 also include Victory's five goal Grand Final hero Archie Thompson and Carle's Newcastle team-mate Jade North.

The Newcastle Jets' star's long awaited recall to the national side comes a fortnight after he scooped the player's player of the year award at a ceremony in Sydney's Opera House, and will give the attacking midfielder a shot at convincing national coach Graham Arnold he's up to inclusion in the Asian Cup squad.

Arnold is known to be sceptical about Carle, previously citing his lack of effort on the defensive end for his exclusion from Socceroo squads of the past.

But the Newcastle playmaker was in top form this season, and picking up the Johnny Warren medal may just have forced Arnold's hand in the face of public opinion.

"This is the last game before the squad assembles in Sydney ahead of the matches against Uruguay and Argentina so there is a big opportunity for players to show they deserve a place in the Asian Cup squad," said National Coach Graham Arnold.

"We need to continue to build depth, not just for the Asian Cup but also as we look ahead to the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign."

Arnold said that as always some players are unavailable due to injury.

"We missed a lot of regular players against Denmark in February but it gave me the chance to continue to expose a new group of players to international football."

"Matches like the upcoming international against China will give me another opportunity to test these players and to see where we currently stand against a fellow Asian Cup finalist."

The match will be shown live on FOX SPORTS 2 with the coverage starting from 6.30pm AEDT.

The Qantas Socceroos' next matches will be the blockbuster home internationals against Uruguay and Argentina in June.

QANTAS SOCCEROOS SQUAD TO PLAY CHINA

Michael Beauchamp (FC Nuremberg, Germany), Mark Bresciano (Palermo, Italy), Jacob Burns (Wisla Krakow, Poland), Nick Carle (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, Holland), Vince Grella (Parma, Italy), Ryan Griffiths (Rapid Bucuresti, Romania), Brett Holman (NEC Nijmegen, Holland), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough, England), Patrick Kisnorbo (Leicester City, England), Scott McDonald (Motherwell, Scotland), Lucas Neill (West Ham, England), Jade North (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, England), Shane Stefanutto (Lillestrom, Norway), Mile Sterjovski (Basel, Switzerland), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory, Australia), Michael Thwaite (Wisla Krakow, Poland), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, England), Luke Wilkshire (Twente, Holland)