Socceroos squad announced for Scotland match
Roar Guru By The Roar, 8 Aug 2012
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck has announced his 20-player squad for the upcoming international friendly match with Scotland on August 15th.
Lucas Neill, who is currently without a club, is set to lead the Socceroos in what will be his 50th match as captain.
Osieck’s squad includes a mix of European based players, with the sole A-League player Melbourne Victory’s Archie Thompson.
Former A-League players include Mitch Langerak, Alex Brosque and Robbie Kruse.
The bolter of the squad is Jason Davidson, son of Socceroo great Alan Davidson. Davidson has spent three years in Portugal, and the Netherlands, and the 21-year-old defender broke into the Heracles Almelo first team at the end of the 2011/12 Dutch season.
Ryan McGowan is also selected for the first time.
Tim Cahill, now playing in the USA’s MLS,3 retains his spot while Harry Kewell misses out.
The Socceroos have played Scotland on four previous occasions – the last game in 2000, where Australia won 2-0 at Hampden Park.
The friendly game will prepare the team for the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against Jordan on 11 September and Iraq on 16 October.
The full squad reads as follows:
Mark Bresciano, Alex Brosque, David Carney, Jason Davidson, Adam Federici, Chris Herd, Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak, Neil Kilkenny, Robbie Kruse, Mitch Langerak, Scott McDonald, Ryan McGowan, Lucas Neill, Sasa Ognenovski, Mark Schwarzer, Archie Thompson, Carl Valeri, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams.
The match will be broadcast at 5am on FoxSports on August 16th.
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August 8th 2012 @ 12:21pm
oly09 said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Awaiting comments from people asking why Porta wasn’t picked!
Good looking squad, with a few new guys getting a chance.
August 8th 2012 @ 12:43pm
Sports Candy said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Given, the plethora of possible team selections form the growing pool of promising young players coming through it would not be easy to pick a team and satisfy everyone.
But yes, give me Porta or Rukya or Leckie any day over Thompson or even Scott McDonald who just can’t score goals for the Socceroos. Thompson is out of condition, hasn’t played a competitive game for 5 months . . . why Holger, why?
Holger, this is an ideal opportunity to justify your claim to being a manager who developes promising up and coming young players to take us into our next golden era.
Blooding good young players for Brazil 2014 is more important than getting a result in this meaningless friendly.
August 8th 2012 @ 9:26pm
Jonny G said | August 8th 2012 @ 9:26pm | Report comment
Have either of you actually seen Porta play?
August 8th 2012 @ 11:20pm
Sports Candy said | August 8th 2012 @ 11:20pm | Report comment
I don’t get to Uruguay that often but there are plenty of highlights reels on you tube and on SBS, particularly scoring goals
He has been among the top goal scorers in Uruguay’s top division as well as River Plate in Argentina for the last few years and is the team’s penalty taker.
Scoring goals – is that not what you select a striker for?
August 9th 2012 @ 6:32pm
dasilva said | August 9th 2012 @ 6:32pm | Report comment
What’s the standard of Uruguay national league?
Now I don’t know the answer to that question but is it higher than the English championship or the Scottish Premier League? Where Scott McDonald has succeeded. Whilst Porta failed in Portugal. Scott Mcdonald has a more distinguish European career than Porta.
Porta also now rejected offered to play in England to play in the gulf in UAE. So people have been mocking a lot of our players to play in the gulf but suddenly Porta is exempt from that criticism?
August 14th 2012 @ 10:10am
chris said | August 14th 2012 @ 10:10am | Report comment
He nas never played in Argentina, only in Uruquay which has a very low standard as the best players go to Argentina!
He played fo River Plate in the Uruguayan league! There is a team with the same name.
Implications: he aint that good
August 14th 2012 @ 2:00pm
Sports Candy said | August 14th 2012 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
Porta is turning into another Nick Carle . . .
And what authority do you have to say that Uruguay does not have a strong national competition?
Since 1960 a Uruguay club has won South America’s premier club champions league competition, the Copa Libertadores 8 times.
He played for the young Socceroos and has played for the Uruguay U-20 team that included players like Suarez. Uruguay are ranked 4 in the world by FIFA.
Who is mocking people playing in the UAE?
Its a smart move seeing we are now part of Asia and a lot of our WCQ games will be played in the middle east. If he does well, Osieck might notice.
I’ll walk naked through FFA headquarters if McDonald or Archie Thompson score a goal against Scotland.
August 8th 2012 @ 12:22pm
Gimly said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
If we don’t have a better central defensive option than Lucas Neill heading into Brazil 2014 – heck, even now! – then it’s a sad state. Where’s the challengers!
Anyway, not sure Archie should be our guy. Give me Rukavytsya anyday!
August 8th 2012 @ 2:15pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
Archie 34 years old, scored exactly zero times in 12 months in all competitions (might have scored in a pre-season warmup though!), what’s the bet the gutless Aussie football media conveniently neglects to ask Holger what the thinking behind that decision is?
August 8th 2012 @ 2:26pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Kasey
I think you’ll find Archie scored 7 goals (in a 3 month period) during the past HAL season.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:32pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:32pm | Report comment
Thanks for the correction, He’s a regular goal machine isn’t he? He is also 34 and no chance for the Brazil squad. The question is, does anybody in the notoriously cosy football media have the stones to ask Herr Osieck just what he is thinking with selecting Archie.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:05pm
David said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
He doing a really great job of alienating the majority of supporters.
No wonder the German FA would never contemplate giving him their main job.
August 8th 2012 @ 12:25pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
Small steps taken to address the aging defenders problem of 2010, but up front…
Thompson??? really??? WTF Holger?
As for Luca$h, anybody without a club should almost automatically be counted out of National team selection. How can such a player possibly be match fit?
August 8th 2012 @ 12:46pm
Titus said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
Seriously…Lucas was looking a little portly while he was getting game time in the Middle East, how is he going to be fit for this friendly, let alone the World Cup?
And Devere has been carving it in Korea.
August 8th 2012 @ 1:10pm
Sports Candy said | August 8th 2012 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
Devere yes, and lots of other good players not getting a chance – how are they going to break into this squad?
August 8th 2012 @ 2:34pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
deVere has got to consider himself unlucky not to get a gig.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:23pm
Griffo said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:23pm | Report comment
I often wonder in Aussie sport whether it’s a matter of once you’re in, you’re in…
I can only think that Neill is in because he’s captain (and what he brings to that role) as well as perhaps providing a bit of a shop window to prospective clubs through an international friendly so he can sign.
Was it Kewell or Neill that had a similar game and club-less before signing for Galatasaray?
I get the feeling Kewell only has to sign for a club and get some training under his belt before being called up again.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:04pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:04pm | Report comment
used to be that way for the National Test Cricket team in the 90s, CA failed to manage squad rejuvenation well and it got us pantsed in the Ashes last time on home soil.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:07pm
David said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:07pm | Report comment
Who gives a f**k about what happened in that joke of a game they call cricket?
August 8th 2012 @ 3:23pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
Whoah, somebody forgot to take their pills today! I think its very instructive to watch & learn from other sports. Cricket is the closest thing we have in this country to a National sport as Baseball is to the Americans, the sport you could wander into any town pub in this country and have a reasonable discussion about. This means that cricket can afford to make occasional mistakes. they will be forgiven and eventually forgotten. Football is not in a position to be able to do this, we have to get it right more often than we don’t.
IMO the failure to manage the rejuvenation of the test XI meant cricket lost a lot of momentum in the late 90s & early 00s, a gap that so far the HAL has managed to exploit to its own advantage in setting itself up. Cricket spent a lot of money rejigging itself and creating the BBL to claw back some attention to itself. Just what would the public perception of football be if we failed to qualify for the WC? or as is more likely, qualified, played 3 games and came directly home again. It would show a complete lack of progress from 06-10-14. How would you sell the Asian cup of 2015 in the face of pessimism like that?
August 8th 2012 @ 4:24pm
David said | August 8th 2012 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
Sorry, no offence intended.
Totally agree that we must stop making stupid mistakes but I don’t think that we have anything of value to learn from that game for pussies and I I absolutely do not agree that cricket is as popular as football is in Australia and I believe it will be in serious trouble in India as a result of Footballs rise in that country.
We need to stand up to the bullies at CH 7 and the newspapers controlled by News Ltd and put them in their place and the game will be unstoppable!
August 8th 2012 @ 6:13pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 6:13pm | Report comment
No offence taken. I am a football fan. I regularly have my very Australian-ness called into question. I can take a couple of swear words dished out in public:) I would argue that by virtue of its very long history and cultural parallel with our society from Bodyline and Bradman through to the modern era of kids in the schoolyard imitating the great imitator of Billy Birmingham, that Cricket is an integral part of our sporting culture and thus if any random news editor was asked to choose between running a cricket story or a football story he or she would 90% of the time choose cricket and this is because he would believe that cricket would get more readers(ie be more popular) than the football story.
August 10th 2012 @ 11:00am
Tim said | August 10th 2012 @ 11:00am | Report comment
I’m a big association football fan and it is my number one sport, however cricket in its own right is a great game.
August 8th 2012 @ 12:35pm
pete4 said | August 8th 2012 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Yes I don’t agree with Thompson or McDonald. Would have liked to see Matthew Leckie, Brent McGrath or Nikita Rukavytsya instead
August 8th 2012 @ 1:11pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | August 8th 2012 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
Excellent team.
If I want to be picky, I’d prefer Rukavytsta, Leckie & Rogic instead of Archie, McDonald & Kilkenny.
When you look at other potential names AUS NT has more quality depth than at any stage I can recall: DeVere, Spiranovic, Kennedy, Amini, Bulut, El Bablj, Kewell, Cahill, Oar, Zullo, Sarota, Milligan, Dugandzic, Ryan, Halloran, Nicholls, etc.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:12pm
Midfielder said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
James Troisi … wonders aloud what he has done … cannot believe he is not in the squad …
August 8th 2012 @ 2:34pm
Brendo said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
So
Keepers – Adam Federici, Mitch Langerak, Mark Schwarzer
No Problem with this selection. Would like to see Fed given a half between the sticks though.
Defenders – David Carney, Jason Davidson, Chris Herd, Ryan McGowan, Lucas Neill, Sasa Ognenovski, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams.
Neill selection purely based on him being the current Captain. Surprised and disappointed that DeVere was not selected. Would like to see Davidson and Williams handed starts at LB and RB respectively. Herd should see at least signficant game time.
Midfield – Mark Bresciano, Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak, Neil Kilkenny, Robbie Kruse, Carl Valeri, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams.
Holman will start at AM, with Varleri and one of Jedinak/Wilkshire/Kilkenny pairing up as the CM. Would have been nice to see Rogic given a train on spot here but I wouldn’t expect Holger to be handing him game time yet.
Attack – Mark Bresciano, Alex Brosque, Robbie Kruse, Scott McDonald, Archie Thompson
Wow really disappointing selections. Why select both McDonald and Thompson, fine pick one but leave the other out for a Ruka, Leckie, Babji ior even Porta. Most likely he will play Mcdonald central, Brosque on the right and Brescanio on the left. Would rather he started Kruse on the right and give Brosque the central role. Kruse needs to be given at least a half instead of the usual 10mins he is handed.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:38pm
Kasey said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
good breakdown Brendo totally underwhelmed by our forward line options. Given it kicked off three days ago anyone playing in the 2.Bundesliga would likely be given the weekend off to concentrate on cementing their spot in the club team, thus no Leckie or Ruka. Rogic is a miss for me, a potential #10, He’d have gained a lot from the exposure to the squad I think despite being in pre-season mode.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:00pm
Nephilim said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
my thoughts as well.
Though Killkenny just seems to have stagnated and wonder about him, but we do have a fair few Aussies injured as well.
Excited about this Jason Davidson, first time I have heard of him and I hope he gets a run just to satisfy my curiosity,
August 8th 2012 @ 9:23pm
whiskeymac said | August 8th 2012 @ 9:23pm | Report comment
underwhelmed is the order of the day, another opportunity gone missing to rejuvenate a squad in an otherwise meaningless friendly. i wasn’t after wholesale change but some of the decisions are more than just a mild disappointment if the future is any consideration.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:01pm
Griffo said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:01pm | Report comment
Wouldn’t surprise me if we are looking at the preferred keeper options until 2015 in this squad – not a position to be concerned about for the next 10 years at least.
Defenders-wise we could be shaping up nicely in the future in the likes of Williams, Davidson, McGowan and Heard, with others in the mix.
Midfield is where we need some aggressive, attack minded options to come through in the future (Rogic and maybe Amini?) when Bresc retires. Missing Mackay in this list.
Agree with your attack comments. I think Holger likes Thompson as a player but more for the character he brings to the team. This leaves me to think that McDonald is getting a look as a potential backup option due to his previous experience in the squad rather than for setting the game alight. Much preferred a new face here ‘getting a look’. Is that a statement of playing it safe with who you know or not enough striking options? Cannot be the later imo.
August 8th 2012 @ 3:15pm
David said | August 8th 2012 @ 3:15pm | Report comment
Atlanta’s Cris Ikonomidis will be a serious contender for Rogic in the battle for the future no. 10 spot in the team.
Absolutely agree with the negaative sentament concerning Portas non-selection.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:36pm
Griffo said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:36pm | Report comment
A warm-up game for the next round of qualifiers, so not too much experimenting here with looking at a bunch of new players – a lot of ‘looking at in-camp/train-in squad’ for some of the new faces. They need to impress here or look at a solid season before the next look-in.
I think other players are not in because of pre-season and wanting to cement spots at their clubs rather than starting over again for maybe not participating in qualifiers. It has been a similar story during this period over the past couple of years.
There are plenty of names mentioned here already that I am eager to see in a game. Then there are others that have little game time/pre-season under their socks and am scratching my head over why (they’re in ahead of others).
To be honest, I don’t think the likes of Porta will get a look in unless it is a fringe player camp as was held in Germany.
August 8th 2012 @ 2:55pm
Lucan said | August 8th 2012 @ 2:55pm | Report comment
Let’s blood Davo as the left-back ASAP. Carney is good enough going forward but doesn’t seem to have a defensive bone in his body.
Fingers crossed Herd holds it together and gets capped before the WCQs.
Not happy with Thompson and McDonald. Hopefully Holger is in touch with the guys on the periphery reinforcing they need to perform to displace these two.
August 8th 2012 @ 9:24pm
whiskeymac said | August 8th 2012 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
carney struggling for game time in uzbeki league still?
August 8th 2012 @ 4:03pm
Stevo said | August 8th 2012 @ 4:03pm | Report comment
At least my favourite players are in: Mile Jedinak, Archie Thompson and Carl Valeri
OMG