CON Boutsianis, the midfield player from South Melbourne who had a trial with Wanderers last season, has won a shock call-up to the Australian national squad - despite facing a jail sentence for his part in an armed robbery!

Boutsianis pleaded guilty last week to driving the getaway car in the robbery three years ago. He has been charged with theft and will be sentenced on Monday.

But Aussie coach Frank Farina, announcing his selection in defiance of Socceroos supremo Tony Labozzetta, said: "Con is a great footballer who has played extremely well over the past couple of seasons."

Boutsianis, who played three reserve games for Wanderers during his short trial at the Reebok, says he is now a reformed character. "I'm up to it," he insisted. "Not many people have been through what I've been through."

"I just think I've got better as I learned my lessons in life. You have to learn from your mistakes to become a better person."

Boutsianis gets his chance - sentence permitting - because Farina has left Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Jacob Burns out of the squad for next month's Oceania Group World Cup qualifiers, avoiding a repeat of recent club v country rows with Leed United.

The matches against Tonga, American Samoa, Fiji and Samoa between April 9 and 16 clash with the Premier League games with Southampton and Liverpool, and the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final with Deportivo La Coruna.

But he has included several other British-based players in his squad, including West Ham's Hayden Foxe, Coventry's John Aloisi, Kevin Muscat of Wolves and Rangers duo Tony Vidmar and Craig Moore.