Burns was named in the 23-man squad that coach Ange Postecoglou will have to work with for a showdown with Iraq in Perth on September 1 and United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi five days later.

Now a regular in the national side, Burns is expected to play an important role in attack. He was named as one of six forwards in the squad, joining Tim Cahill, Apostolos Giannou, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie.

The focus of Postecoglou's squad in the build up is fitness given Australia's sole qualifying defeat in four years came in October 2015 against Jordan in Amman.

"We saw last year at this time, the September-October window, that players who came in that were underdone really struggled," Postecoglou said.

"The primary thing for me when we got this squad together was to make sure whoever we bring in has good fitness.

"Both Iraq and UAE present challenges for us and every player will need to be ready to hit the ground running."

Burns, who plays his club soccer in the J-League for Tokyo FC, will have fond memories of playing in Perth.

Last September in a World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in Perth, Burns netted his first goal for the senior national side. The Socceroos won that match 5-0.

"We've now arrived at the final stage of World Cup qualifying where we will face a stronger group of opponents in testing conditions and we are comfortable that we have a core group of players with a stronger base of international experience,” Postecoglou said.