I wouldn't be writing off Burgess post Asian Cup in just 9 months. He's only 30 years old and has shown across his career that he is incredibly resilient and misses very little football. The only outfield player to have played every single minute for his club in the Championship this season...
I reckon Rugari's 26 man predicted squad is probably spot on. Is there anyone you think is any chance of being picked that is not mentioned in this article?
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/who-s-on-the-plane-piecing-together-the-socceroos-world-cup-squad-puzzle-20260330-p5zjtg.html
He got 7 caps according to Wikipedia which isn't a lot. I wonder if he'd have made the same decision with the benefit of hindsight if he'd known he would only ever get 7 caps.
I guess Arnie successfully got his team out of the group 4 years ago against France, a second tier European team and an African team, so why not again?! Plus it's easier to get through to the knock out rounds now.