Shepparton’s Alou and Garang Kuol have earned the national shoulder tap once more.
The sibling duo will jet off to Saudi Arabia next month in preparation for the AFC under-23 Asian Cup 2024, taking part in the fifth edition of the West Asian Football Federation under-23 Championship as part of a 23-man Olyroos squad.
Younger sibling Garang takes leave from Dutch side FC Volendam, on loan from parent club Newcastle United, where he has been starved of starting minutes.
He’ll add to his five Olyroos appearances to go along with his five Socceroos cameos.
Meanwhile, older brother Alou will use the tournament as a chance to hit the reset button after a slightly latent patch for the Central Coast Mariners.
Kuol returned to Australia from Germany on the eve of the 2023-24 A-League Men’s season and turned heads in the opening phase of the campaign.
However, after just four goals in 19 appearances so far, the 22-year-old has been relegated to the bench.
For both Kuols, the WAFF Championship poses as an opportunity to find form.
The Olyroos have been drawn into group D alongside Iraq and will then face either Egypt or United Arab Emirates, before the match schedule opens up ahead of their final fixture.
Olyroos head coach Tony Vidmar spoke on the WAFF Championship, saying the tournament shapes as a good refresher ahead of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, which runs from April 15 to May 3.
“This window is an extremely important part of our preparation for the Asian Cup and with the extra game than we’d usually have, we’re able to provide ample opportunity across the squad ahead of selecting our final 23,” Vidmar said.
“We’re facing quality opposition in similar conditions to what we’ll see in Qatar, so in terms of acclimatising for the Asian Cup it covers a lot of important bases.
“As a group we’ve set clear expectations about what we want to achieve over the next six months and this is the first step in that journey.”