Australia's friendly match against England in Sunderland on May 27 will be eagerly awaited by every Socceroo - but perhaps none more so than Liverpool left-back Brad Smith, who has the opportunity to show Three Lions' boss Roy Hodgson what he's missing out on.

Smith now has six caps for Australia but he represented England at under-17, under-19 and under-20 levels between 2011 and 2014, only permanently switching his allegiance to Australia in September 2014 after a sustained courting campaign by Football Federation Australia.

Brad Smith controls the ball during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification match between the Socceroos and Tajikistan at Adelaide Oval last month. Credit:Getty Images

When it became clear to Smith that he was firmly in the calculations of Ange Postecoglou, he decided to make the jump and has already emerged as a standout choice at left-back, a position Australia had not adequately filled since the international retirement of Scott Chipperfield in 2010.

By contrast, England has a wealth of left-backs to choose from, including Leighton Baines, Luke Shaw, Ryan Bertrand, Kieran Gibbs and Danny Rose, meaning Smith would have been well down the pecking order had he decided to stick with England, where he moved as an 14-year old to join Liverpool's academy.