Nabbout received his first Australia call-up for the March friendlies against Norway and Colombia, making his debut in the 4-1 defeat in Oslo.

However, the Lebanese FA had been on his case for six years, since he was a 19 year-old at Melbourne Victory.

"They contacted me a lot, especially in the last few years at Newcastle, because they wanted me to play in the qualifiers leading into this World Cup," Nabbout told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"In the back of their mind they had the 2019 Asian Cup as well, and they wanted me to pledge allegiance early on. Actually, it started well before. When I was at Victory I got the first email then, asking where my loyalty lay."

Nabbout is proud of his Lebanese roots, and his determination to wait on a call from Australia wavered in the wake of his release by Victory in 2015.

"There was a chance my career wasn’t going to kick on much further... it crossed my mind, what was the best decision to make? Do I play for Lebanon or do I stick to my guns and try and play for Australia?" he said.

His decision to hold out has been resoundingly vindicated. After half a year playing in Malaysia, Nabbout returned Australia with Newcastle Jets, and after 18 goals in 46 A-League appearances, he finally got the call from the FAA. Now he's a likely starter in Australia's opening World Cup match against France.

"For me, my loyalty always lied here," said Nabbout. "I’ve always wanted to play for the Socceroos."