Eight A-League stars who could play for the Socceroos at the World Cup

After not getting much opportunity at Melbourne Victory and leaving Australia to find regular football in Malaysia, Nabbout has become a quality A-League player at the Newcastle Jets.

The 24-year-old winger surprised last season to score eight goals and win the Jets' fans player of the year award.

He has continued to improve this campaign - scoring five goals and assisting four in the first 10 games - and has even has been deployed as an emergency striker during Roy O'Donovan's injury troubles.

Nabbout would be a left-field option but his power and versatility across the attacking positions could make him a valuable squad member in Russia.

Zullo is another player who has been capped for the Socceroos at a younger age but with injuries and poor form derailing his career overseas, has now been in steady form for Sydney FC since his return to the A-League at the start of last season.

The 29-year-old is an attacking full-back, whose defensive capabilities have improved as he has become more experienced.

Left back has been a problem position during the World Cup qualifying campaign and while Aziz Behich appears to have made the spot his own with his quality performances in Turkey, Zullo will be among a number of other options considered.

The Sky Blue midfielder is reportedly being courted by the Irish national team with his form in the A-League being strong for the past 12 months.

O'Neill is a hard-working, no-frills midfielder who is deadly from long-range and also set pieces.

His steady play in a holding role could be the stabilising influence a new national team coach is looking for - particularly if Jedinak doesn't come good.

It's fair to say that Melbourne Victory's struggling season would be worse if it wasn't for the performances of Williams at the heart of the defence.

Time and time again, Williams has been a rock in an exposed defence, showing that he is returning to the form that helped him achieve captaincy at Championship side Middlesbrough in 2012.

The 29-year-old has also proved to be adept on the ball striding into midfield and has been a threat at set pieces despite being yet to score for Kevin Muscat.

Williams has 14 caps for the national team but hasn't taken the field for the green and gold since November 2013.

At his best form he is definitely an option for the Socceroos and it appears he isn't too far off reaching this benchmark.

The Sydney FC midfielder already has five Socceroos caps but has been out of the selection picture since appearing in a friendly against Qatar in October 2014.

After initially breaking into the starting team of Serie A club Fiorentina, Brillante eventually found himself on the outer and shunted out to Serie B side Como.

Returning to the A-League with the Sky Blues at the start of the last season, the 24-year-old has been superb under Graham Arnold and a key part of their charge to sweep the 2016-17 competition.

With Jedinak's injury worries, Brillante could be on the plane to Russia if he continues his good form.

De Silva announced himself in a starring performance for the young Socceroos under Paul Okon as a 16-year-old, but since making his debut for Perth Glory at the same age, has had a stint overseas in Holland where he struggled to make an impact.

Now playing back under Okon's tutelage, De Silva has had a dynamic start to the A-League season as the heart of Central Coast's creativity - with two goals, an assist and an impact on matches we haven't seen from him before.

While he would have to perform incredibly to be considered a Socceroos starter, many pundits are calling for him to be included in the squad as an option off the bench.

Arguably the most in-form player in the A-League, Petratos has stepped it up to another level since returning to Australia with Newcastle Jets from an ill-fated stint in South Korea.

Petratos has scored four goals and assisted three in his 10 appearances this season and has terrorised defences since moving into a free-roaming role.

His form has found a consistency never seen before and there is high hopes the 25-year-old is maturing into a player who could make an impact at national team level.

Petratos would be vying for a spot in the Socceroos squad with a player like Melbourne Victory's James Troisi, who has been selected regularly during the World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Reds deep-lying midfielder has been superb this season, with his best performance coming in an all-action display in the 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory in early December.

Sanchez is not only adept at breaking up play, but has strong work-rate and can also play passes to either keep the game ticking over or split open a defence.

The 30-year-old Spaniard is reported to be eligible for the national team next year and could be a handy squad member - especially if captain Mile Jedinak is still troubled by injuries.