Australia claim Liverpool's Smith with Socceroos call-up

Australia coach Ange Postecoglou called England under-21 international Brad Smith into his squad for next month's Asian Cup warm-ups against Belgium and Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The 20-year-old Liverpool left back was born in Australia to British parents and moved to England when he was 14, going on to represent the country at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. Smith will be sidelined for several weeks after injuring his knee while on loan at Swindon Town last week, though, suggesting his call-up is a bid to secure his services for the Socceroos. "Brad's played for the England under-21s as recently as a couple of months ago but he's very committed to playing for Australia and after having a chat to him we are really keen to get him in the green and gold and give him an opportunity." Smith was one of four uncapped players in Postecoglou's first squad since the World Cup, where Australia lost all three matches but gained some credibility with competitive performances against Chile and the Netherlands.
Click here to read full news..