Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has named Canberra's Tom Rogic in a 23-man squad for the final stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September.
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The news caps off a whirlwind seven days for Rogic who celebrated re-signing with Scottish giants Celtic with a brace against Motherwell last week.
Rogic will head into Socceroos camp ahead of a match against Iraq on September 1 in Perth, before jetting to Abu Dhabi for a clash with the UAE on September 6.
Postecoglou was glad Rogic could now put concerns about his future aside and focus on football.
"It's always a worry when they're unsettled, [but] I think now he'll probably feel better about things as well," Postecoglou said.
"His form has been great in the pre-season and now at the start of the season.
"Whenever he's played he's made an impact and scored goals and also been very creative. I know when he does play - and he will play regularly - his career will continue to progress."
Rogic has found the back of the net four times for Australia on the path to the 2018 World Cup, slated to be held in Russia.
The timing of the European season has worked in favour of the 23-year-old, with Postecoglou leaning in favour of overseas players due to the timing of the fixtures.
"The primary thing for me in getting this squad together was making sure whoever we bring in has good fitness," Postecoglou said.
"We saw last year at this time, the September/October window that players who came who were underdone really struggled. The pleasing thing is most of them started off in good form as well."
Postecoglou said his squad boasted 21 players who had enjoyed "a really strong pre-season", with the majority already playing competitive football.
It means the likes of Canberra-born Melbourne Victory player Jason Geria were not considered with A-League clubs still months away from competition.
"With the A-League, it's not just a matter of players being in pre-season but the A-League pretty much finished in April," Postecoglou said.
"It's been a long time off for those players. All A-League clubs are working their players to make sure that they're ready for the start of the season, which is in October, not September.
"From that perspective again for us, last year this time we called up a few A-League players and we really found they struggled with physicality and intensity of what we do."
Postecoglou said it made sense to hold off on picking A-League players - with the exception of Cahill - until the October camp.
