Former Dundee striker Jason Cummings has earned a shock call-up to the Australian national team.
The 27-year-old has been chosen as part of coach Graham Arnold’s 31-man squad to face New Zealand in a friendly double-header this month.
Cummings made the move to A-League side Central Coast Mariners in January after a fall-out with then-Dundee boss James McPake.
The striker has found a new lease of life Down Under and has shown to be one of the hottest strikers in the Australian top-flight, netting 11 goals in 22 matches and becoming the club’s top scorer last season.
He has since been rewarded with a new deal at the Mariners.
How is Cummings available for Australia?
Cummings has represented Scotland twice before, making brief cameos against the Netherlands and Hungary in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
However, those caps were won in friendly ties which means he is eligible to play for the Aussies due to holding dual citizenship, thanks to his Australian-born mum.
Cummings joins up with fellow ex-Dee and former Hibs teammate Martin Boyle – and six other former or current SPFL players, including Dundee United’s Aziz Behich – in the Socceroos squad.
Should the striker impress in the friendlies, he could win a place at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, with Australia in a group with France, Tunisia and Denmark.
The goals that earned Cummings his Australia call-up
Former Dee striker ‘buzzing’
Upon his selection, he said: “I’m absolutely buzzing, over the moon.
“It was a goal of mine for a long time now, and especially when I came to Australia in January it was something that I wanted to try and accomplish.
“When I got the call yesterday, I was buzzing. It is just the beginning as well, hopefully I can get many more.
“It has been huge. To come here, I fell back in love with the game. To have a manager that believes in me, who has played me every week.
“I am scoring goals and just thriving. It is good to be rewarded with this call up.”
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