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Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has named a 23-man squad for their upcoming international friendly against England, with a total of nine changes from the team that defeated Tajikistan and Jordan in March.
The match, to be played on Friday, May 27 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland sees Milos Degenek, Brad Inman, Jamie Maclaren and Stefan Mauk all getting their first ever call-up to the squad, paving the way for a possible four debutants.
Craig Goodwin has also been included in the squad after a strong A-League season with Adelaide United, having last played for the Socceroos in 2013.
The other players who have been included in the squad are Aziz Behich, Jackson Irvine, Tomi Juric and Stefan Mauk.
Australia also play a pair of matches against Greece in Sydney and Melbourne within a fortnight of their trip to England, but will pick a different squad for those matches.
“Whilst it is an exciting fixture for us, it falls outside the FIFA window which means some boys, unfortunately, won’t be available for it. That includes all the boys playing in Asia and also Jason Geria who is playing for Melbourne Victory in the AFC Champions League, so we’ve taken all that into account.” Postecoglou said.
Due to the other commitments, the likes of Tim Cahill, Matthew Leckie and Nathan Burns will all miss out on playing England.
“We have had to cast the net far and wide again and at the same time I think we have come up with a squad that will be really competitive on the day.
“Due to this unique set of circumstances, we will name another squad next week for the upcoming matches against Greece where which will consider all eligible players.”
Postecoglou wanted to focus on the upcoming match against England though, stating that it is a good opportunity to test themselves against the best, and further consolidate game style and plans with the next World Cup just two years away.
“England is obviously a quality team and will be good challenge for us especially away from home.”
“I think it is constantly important that we test ourselves against the best and always against different types of opposition.
“Having come off the back of the first stage of qualifying against Asian opposition, it will be good to face up to something different and see how we are tracking with our progression.
“Ultimately we want to qualify for a World Cup, but we also want to know our game style and game plan will stand up against the very best,” concluded Postecoglou.
Socceroos squad:
Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Adam Federici, Craig Goodwin, Chris Ikonomidis, Jackson Irvine, Brad Inman, Mile Jedinak, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mitchell Langerak, Massimo Luongo, Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk, Matthew McKay, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Josh Risdon, Tom Rogic, Matthew Ryan, Brad Smith, Bailey Wright, Alex Wilkinson
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