Australia’s Hrustic ready to answer Olympic call of duty

MELBOURNE: After easing back into the Australia setup, midfielder Ajdin Hrustic has put his hand up for a possible tilt at an Olympic soccer medal at the Paris Games.

Australia will hope to book a ticket to Paris at the under-23 Asian Cup starting in Qatar next month, with the tournament offering three Olympic slots to the highest finishers. The fourth best finisher will play Guinea in a playoff for the final slot in Paris.

Hrustic, 27, will hope to be one of three over-age players permitted in Tony Vidmar’s squad should they qualify for the under-23 Olympic tournament. “I’ll always put my hand up for the national team and I think everyone knows that,” Hrustic told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

“When the Olympics do come round, we’ll see what happens. “Obviously (depends on) the situation and what Tony does need. He might not need my position. You never know in football. “But I’m ready. Always.”

Hrustic has barely been seen for the Socceroos in the last two years due to injury and club problems but made a welcome return as a substitute during last Thursday’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lebanon in Sydney.

Australia and Lebanon play another World Cup qualifier in Canberra on Tuesday. The match is deemed Lebanon’s “home” game after the Asian Football Confederation requested it be moved from the nation because of the war in Gaza.