In-form Brisbane Roar midfielder Nichols has also been rewarded for his excellent start to the A-League season with his first return to the national squad since his debut in March 2009.

Schwarzer, Kewell and Emerton were all left out of the squad that easily accounted for Malaysia in a friendly last month before seeing Oman off in a World Cup qualifier four days later.

That victory has put the Socceroos on the precipice of direct entry to the next round of qualifiers.

Kewell and Emerton returned to the A-League amid much fanfare at the star of the season but have been slow to get going with their respective sides Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.

But Osieck, keen to seal qualification as soon as possible, had no hesitation in recalling them.

Herd has been in superb form for Premier League outfit Aston Villa, attracting the interest of the Scottish national team.

The 22-year-old's parents are both Scottish but he has pledged his loyalty to Australia.

Socceroos: Alex Brosque (Shimizu S-Pulse, Japan), Nathan Coe (Snderjysk Elitesport, Denmark), Brett Emerton (Sydney FC, Australia), Adam Federici (Reading FC, England), Chris Herd (Aston Villa, England), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace FC, England), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus, Japan), Harry Kewell (Melbourne Victory, Australia), Neil Kilkenny (Bristol City FC, England), Robbie Kruse (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Matt McKay (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Lucas Neill (Al-Jazira Club, UAE), Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar, Australia), Sasa Ognenovski (Seongham Ilwha Chunma, Korea Repuvlic), Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht, Netherlands), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham FC, England), Matthew Spiranovic (Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan), James Troisi (Kayserispor Kulubu, Turkey), Carl Valeri (U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, Italy), Luke Wilkshire (FK Dinamo Moscow, Russia), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough FC, England), Michael Zullo (FC Utrecht, Netherlands)