Young excellence, promotion battles, and a happy farewell: The Australian team of the week from players around the globe
Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
Head Coach Ange Postecoglou has named a 23-man squad ahead of the Socceroos two-game international series against Greece which take place in June.
Postecoglou has rung the changes from the squad that was named to take on England last week, giving ten more players an opportunity to represent Australia on the international stage during the June FIFA window. Some of these players have already announced they will miss out on the first game due to other commitments.
Among the changes are Mark Birighitti, Nathan Burns, Tim Cahill, Jason Geria, Alex Gersbach, Apostolos Giannou, Mathew Leckie, Ryan McGowan, Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Spiranovic.
There was also one change to the squad for England, with goalkeeper Birighitti coming in for Mitch Langerak who is injured.
“The matches against Greece are about continuing to expose our players to a high level of international football,” said Postecoglou.
“The competition and intensity of these matches will definitely give us that and gives us the right preparation for the next round of World Cup qualifiers and the Confederations Cup.
“Playing in front of big home crowds is an opportunity both for the players and the fans to build on the great atmosphere that has been created during the first round of World Cup qualifiers in Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Sydney.
“The Asian Cup and the first round of World Cup qualifiers put our focus on Asian teams and conditions, but it’s important to confront a range of styles,” said Postecoglou.
“Greece will present a different set of technical and tactical challenges and they have many players at the top level in Europe.
“Of course, the Greek Australian community will have special affinity to the matches and that will add to the occasion in Sydney and Melbourne.”
The first match against Greece will take place on the 4th of June at ANZ Stadium.
The second will be hosted at Etihad Stadium on the 7th of June.
Socceroos squad to take on England in friendly
 Name | Club, Country | A International Caps (Goals) |
Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk) | Newcastle Jets | 1 (0) |
Nathan BURNS | FC Tokyo | 20 (3) |
Tim CAHILL | Hangzhou Greentown FC | 89 (47) |
Adam FEDERICI (gk) | A.F.C. Bournemouth | 15 (0) |
Jason GERIA | Melbourne Victory FC | – |
Alex GERSBACH | Rosenborg BK | – |
Apostolos GIANNOU | Guangzhou R&F FC | 1 (0) |
Chris IKONOMIDIS | U.S. Salernitana 1919 | 3 (0) |
Jackson IRVINE | Ross County | 2 (0) |
Mile JEDINAK | Crystal Palace FC | 62 (12) |
Robbie KRUSE | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 40 (4) |
Mathew LECKIE | FC Ingolstadt 04 | 29 (2) |
Jamie MACLAREN | Brisbane Roar FC | – |
Ryan MCGOWAN | Henan Jianye FC | 15 (0) |
Mark MILLIGAN | Baniyas F.C. | 46 (5) |
Aaron MOOY | Melbourne City FC | 13 (5) |
Josh RISDON | Perth Glory FC | 2 (0) |
Tom ROGIC | Celtic FC | 15 (5) |
Mathew RYAN (gk) | Valencia CF | 23 (0) |
Trent SAINSBURY | Jiangsu Suning FC | 14 (1) |
Brad SMITH | Liverpool FC | 6 (0) |
Matthew SPIRANOVIC | Hangzhou Greentown FC | 30 (0) |
Bailey WRIGHT | Preston North End FC | 10 (1) |