Who will make the Socceroos squad?

 

By , 5 Mar 2010 Guy Hand is a Roar Pro

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Pencil these 13 names in as certainties for the Socceroos’ World Cup squad. Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Scott Chipperfield, David Carney, Luke Wilkshire, Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella, Brett Emerton, Jason Culina, Josh Kennedy and Harry Kewell.

Among them is Pim Verbeek’s preferred starting 11 for every match Australia will play in South Africa – no question.

Fully fit, this group will play all but a handful of minutes at the World Cup.

That leaves 10 spots up for grabs in the squad Verbeek will name in June – and among those fringe-dwellers is where the most conjecture lies.

Schwarzer’s two back-up goalkeepers should come from a group of four – Adam Federici, Brad Jones, Michael Petkovic and Eugene Galekovic.

Much of the rest depends on how Verbeek structures his squad.

The preferred 4-2-3-1 formation and players who are interchangeable in a variety of positions – notably Wilkshire, Emerton, Cahill and Kewell – means a blurring of the lines in how many defenders, midfielders and strikers will make the final cut.

At least one true centre-back and probably two must be included should calamity strike Neill or Moore.

English-based youngsters Shane Lowry and Rhys Williams are regulars in Verbeek’s Euro-roos squads so must be good chances, and offer versatility along the backline.

So do Simon Colosimo and Mark Milligan, who have pressed their claims in the Asian Cup qualifiers, while Patrick Kisnorbo has had a good season with English club Leeds and the Socceroos.

In midfield, Brett Holman polarises fans but will probably go.

One or both of Carl Valeri and Mile Jedinak will, perhaps Jacob Burns, but Mile Sterjovski is less certain after forgettable performances in his past two appearances.

Up front, Alex Brosque, Scott McDonald, Nikita Rukavytsya and Bruce Djite are the best chances of backing up Kennedy and Kewell.

Archie Thompson’s untimely injury means he’ll have to impress big-time in Melbourne’s Asian Champions League campaign to have any chance.

But no doubt the most eagerly watched selections will be potential X-factors.

Nick Carle is the obvious, but Verbeek would appear jury-out.

Now teenage winger Tommy Oar’s sparkling debut against Indonesia has played him right into World Cup contention.

Verbeek has rarely been as warm and publicly open about his admiration for a fringe Socceroo as he has for Oar in the past few days.

That would suggest while World Cup selections 14 to 22 are far from certain, Oar can surely be pencilled in as No.23 – a nod to the future with genuine upside now.

© AAP 2012
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