Herd wins Australia call-up

The 22-year-old only pledged his future to the Socceroos last month having been eligible for Scotland due to his Scottish parents.

Herd's performances for Alex McLeish's Villa had been attracting the interest of the Scottish national team, but now the Under-20 international is one step away from winning a full cap.

Joining the Villa stopper in head coach Holger Osieck's Australia squad are seasoned veterans Mark Schwarzer, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton.

Fulham goalkeeper Schwarzer, former Leeds and Liverpool forward Kewell and ex-Blackburn defender Emerton were left out of the squad that easily accounted for Malaysia in a friendly last month before seeing Oman off in a World Cup qualifier four days later - a victory which has put the Socceroos on the brink of direct entry to the next round of qualifiers.

Kewell and Emerton returned to the A-League amid much fanfare at the start of the season but have been slow to get going with Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC respectively.

Australia will play Oman in Muscat on 11th November before meeting Thailand in flood-affected Bangkok on 15th November.

No decision has yet been made on whether the Thailand match will take place elsewhere because of the problems in the capital.