By Liam FitzGibbon
November 11th 2009 @ 2:40am
A-League hopefuls boosted by Brosque call-up
Alex Brosque’s call-up to the Socceroos has offered renewed hope for a host of A-League stars harbouring dreams of playing at next year’s World Cup.
The Sydney FC striker was a shock selection to replace Josh Kennedy for Saturday’s Asian Cup qualifier against Oman in Muscat after the Nagoya Grampus frontman succumbed to a back injury.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek’s choice to overlook Celtic striker Scott McDonald and call up Brosque to a predominantly European-based squad indicates he is still open to Australian-based players making a late claim for World Cup selection.
While Jason Culina and Craig Moore have been regular A-League selections in Verbeek’s squad, the Dutchman last week dropped several other names, including Melbourne’s Archie Thompson, Sydney’s Mark Bridge and Gold Coast’s Joel Porter, as players he had been impressed with in recent weeks.
Sydney FC defender Simon Colosimo, another whose form in the A-League has attracted talk of a call-up to the national team, said he believed A-League players still had plenty of time to prove their worth before South Africa.
“There’s a lot of talk about it but to be honest I don’t think anybody’s out of the running,” Colosimo said.
“I think come World Cup year if you’re playing well, if the ball bounces the right way, you get the opportunity and you take it and impress Pim, everybody’s got a chance.
“It’s all really about timing to be honest, being around at the right time and there’s definitely a chance.”
The in-form Colosimo was reluctant to talk up his own chances of a Socceroos recall, saying he would only be focussing on making sure he performs his best for Sydney each week.
“You have to be training well and playing well every week,” Colosimo said.
“That weekend that Pim decides ‘I’m going to have a look at Simon or Brosquey, or Bridgey’ and we don’t play well, that really puts you well down the pecking order doesn’t it.”
A host of A-League hopefuls could get a chance to impress in Australia’s final two Asian Cup qualifiers early next year which do not fall on FIFA match dates, making it difficult for Verbeek to call up many of his overseas-based players.
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