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Cahill back for Socceroos

Sydney - Tim Cahill was recalled to the Australian squad on Wednesday for next month's friendly against Lebanon and Soccer World Cup qualifier against Jordan.

The former Everton star joined the New York Red Bulls last month and indicated he did not want to be considered for Socceroos friendlies until he had settled into his new life.

But coach Holger Osieck included him in his 22-man squad to face Lebanon in a friendly in Beirut on September 6 and for their 2014 World Cup qualifier against Jordan in Amman five days later.

Also returning after missing the recent 3-1 defeat to Scotland are Matt McKay, Jade North, Nikita Rukavytsya, Adam Sarota and Matthew Spiranovic.

Osieck said the squad included familiar faces but he was confident the Socceroos' performance would be different from that in the Scotland match.

"We should not put too much into the Scotland game when you recall... most of the boys didn't even finish their pre-season, the leagues hadn't even started and you could see that some were not in the actual shape that they need to be when they are, for instance, in mid-season," he said.

"I am 100 percent convinced that we will definitely have a different performance level when we play the qualifier in Jordan."

Austrian-based midfielder James Holland gets his first call-up since March while goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is poised to become the first Australian to win 100 caps.

"I think his contribution has been extraordinary over the years," Osieck said of the goalkeeper.

"And it's no surprise that... Mark will be the first to get to the 100-caps mark because he is the role model of the professional," he said.

Australia are currently third in Group B in final Asian World Cup qualifying with two points from two games, the same as Iraq. Japan are top on seven points from three matches.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Adam Federici (Reading/ENG), Mitchell Langerak (BV Borussia 09 Dortmund/GER), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham/ENG)

Defenders: David Carney (Bunyodkor Tashkent/UZB), Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo/NED), Ryan McGowan (Heart of Midlothian/SCO), Lucas Neill (Al Wasl/UAE), Jade North (Consadole Sapporo/JPN), Sasa Ognenovski (Umm Salal/QAT), Matthew Spiranovic (Al Arabi/QAT), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow/RUS)

Midfielders: Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa/QAT), James Holland (Austria Wien/AUT), Brett Holman (Aston Villa/ENG), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace/ENG), Matthew McKay (Busan I'Park/KOR), Adam Sarota (Utrecht/NED)

Forwards: Alex Brosque (Shimizu S-Pulse/JPN), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls/USA), Robbie Kruse (Fortuna Dusseldorf/GER), Nikita Rukavytsya (Hertha Berlin/GER), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory/AUS)

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