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A clutch of Hearts and Hibs stars have been named in the Australia squad for matches against Venezuela and Colombia. Tony Popovic has named an experimental squad as they head to America, who play host to next year’s World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. Seven potential debutants and five Australian-based players have been picked as part of 11 changes, but there is still room for Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin plus Hibs duo Martin Boyle and Jack Iredale. Devlin’s engine room form at Tynecastle has been a key driver behind Hearts’ ascent to the top of the Premiership, and he will look to build on his four caps to date, after returning to the camp last month. Centre-back Iredale meanwhile returns to the squad for the first time since World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia in May and Boyle is a seasoned campaigner up front. Head coach Popovic said: “It’s another opportunity to expand the depth and introduce players who have not yet been exposed to the Socceroos environment or senior international football. We also welcome back some familiar faces, from Australia and abroad. “I’ve had the chance to closely observe the opening rounds of the A-League season, and we believe this is the ideal time to integrate domestic players into the squad. We are delighted to be back in the United States to face strong South American opposition as we continue our preparations for the World Cup.” Australia are one of the 28 teams already qualified for the major tournament, and travel to Houston to face Venezuela on November 14th. They then take on Colombia in New York on the 18th, and both games represent a chance for Hibs defender Iredale to take strides towards a career goal of his, playing for the Socceroos. He said after his call up in May following Hibs’ third place finish in the Premiership: "I've been out of the system now for 13 years. I've been working away to try and get back involved. I'm very excited to be here. It's very rewarding. I had a tough time at the start of my career with injuries but to have this positive step in a good direction with the training camp, hopefully I can do well this week. "For me, playing for my country is the only thing I've wanted to do in my career. It's been pretty good. It's been tough but everyone has made me feel really welcome. The boys have been really good. Obviously there's a few familiar faces but even the boys I hadn't met before have made me feel really welcome." Devlin said recently of his Hearts form surge: “I feel I've been doing alright. I had a good pre-season. I spoke to the gaffer in the summer and he really filled me with confidence. He said 'You are going to be such an important part of what we are doing at Hearts.' We've got a whole new model with Jamestown Analytics and Tony Bloom coming in, but he was banging on that I'm going to be such a big part of his plans. He said he likes what I do in midfield but wants me to take the shackles off and just enjoy my football.”
