Australia has nailed down a 23-man squad for its upcoming World Cup qualifiers later this month against Iraq and the UAE.
The Socceroos will travel to face Iraq in Tehran on March 23, before hosting the UAE at home in Sydney on March 28.
Postecoglou initially named a 30-man squad, but has now trimmed that down to a final group of 23.
Six A-League players, headed by Tim Cahill, have been named in the squad. League-leaders Sydney FC boast two inclusions, Rhyan Grant and Danny Vukovic.
Riley McGree of Adelaide United, James Troisi of Melbourne Victory and Rhys Williams of Perth Glory are the other A-League players to feature.
Grant, McGree and Vukovic are three of five uncapped players to be included in the squad, with Mustafa Amini and James Jeggo the others.
Aziz Behich and Mitch Langerak will make returns to the squad after being absent in recent times.
As expected, experienced heads Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, Mat Ryan, Mathew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Robbie Kruse, Trent Sainsbury and Mark Milligan are all in the mix.
“We’ve come up with a good strong squad that has a mix of experience, form and players who are playing regular football,” Postecoglou said. “I was pleased with the collective game time the squad got through over the weekend and come into camp playing well.
“We face two important games in five days and it’s good to welcome back some guys who have been out of the squad for different lengths of time for various reasons and I’m confident the group we’ve selected will be ready to hit the ground running.”
“There are a lot of important matches in what shapes as a crucial year for the team but the focus for us is simply Iraq on Thursday week and then the UAE in Sydney on March 28.”
| Name | Club, Country | A International Caps (Goals) |
| Mustafa AMINI | Aarhus Gymnastikforening (AGF), DENMARK | – |
| Aziz BEHICH | Bursaspor, TURKEY | 11 (2) |
| Tim CAHILL | Melbourne City FC, AUSTRALIA | 94 (48) |
| Milos DEGENEK | Yokohama F Marinos, JAPAN | 5 (0) |
| Rhyan GRANT | Sydney FC, AUSTRALIA | – |
| Jackson IRVINE | Burton Albion FC, ENGLAND | 7 (0) |
| Mile JEDINAK | Aston Villa FC, ENGLAND | 68 (15) |
| James JEGGO | SK Sturm Graz, AUSTRIA | – |
| Tomi JURIC | FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND | 20 (4) |
| Robbie KRUSE | Liaoning Whowin FC, CHINA | 48 (4) |
| Mitchell LANGERAK | VfB Stuttgart FC, GERMANY | 6 (0) |
| Mathew LECKIE | FC Ingolstadt 04, GERMANY | 37 (3) |
| Massimo LUONGO | Queens Park Rangers FC, ENGLAND | 24 (5) |
| Riley McGREE | Adelaide United FC, AUSTRALIA | – |
| Mark MILLIGAN | Baniyas FC, UAE | 53 (5) |
| Aaron MOOY | Huddersfield Town AFC, ENGLAND | 21 (5) |
| Mathew RYAN | KRC Genk, BELGIUM | 30 (0) |
| Trent SAINSBURY | FC Internazionale Milano, ITALY | 21 (3) |
| Brad SMITH | AFC Bournemouth, ENGLAND | 14 (0) |
| James TROISI | Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA | 26 (4) |
| Daniel VUKOVIC | Sydney FC, AUSTRALIA | – |
| Rhys WILLIAMS | Perth Glory FC, AUSTRALIA | 14 (0) |
| Bailey WRIGHT | Bristol City FC, ENGLAND | 12 (1) |
Franko
Guest
Agreed, he had a cracking few months but left too soon. Hopefully he returns on loan next year and plays some football!
pacman
Guest
Nemesis, I replied at 8.20pm. The moderators obviously have an issue.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
What's staggering is old man Cahill's international goal and scoring record compared to any of our other strikers. The cupboard is bare.
pacman
Guest
Nemesis, I would like to think you are correct. However, my research, for which I don't really have time, indicates otherwise. EPL Reserve League was disbanded 2 or 3 years ago, and clubs made their own way. AFC Bournemouth Reserves play in a Central League, a 12 team competition with their opponents consisting of: AFC Wimbledon Reserves Bristol Rovers Reserves Cambridge United Reserves Cheltenham Town Reserves Exeter City Reserves Gillingham Reserves Luton Town Reserves Newport County Reserves Peterborough Reserves Southend United Reserves Swindon Town Reserves The quality would, I suggest, be somewhat below A-League standard. Certainly based on the performance of the Cambridge United League 2 first team I observed in action a year or two ago, which I rated as similar to lower level A-League standard. Can't say anymore. Simply not confident about the situation.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
wow, could Rhyan Grant make a socceroo debut?
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Agreed Caltex. Apart from that selection, I thought the players cut were fairly logical. They will be required in the future though. You can't pick everybody. Miss watching Burns, a very capable player.
Realfootball
Guest
Smith is a fringe player at Bournemouth and is getting minutes in the EPL.
Realfootball
Guest
It's that old point, isn't it, Franko? No use a young player moving to a club where he doesn't play. Mauk left too soon. So many of our players do.
Nemesis
Guest
Maybe Smith has been playing Reserves matches? Given the depth of talent at EPL clubs & the need to put in performances to push up into the senior team, I'd expect EPL reserves matches would be very competitive.
Caltex & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
I am truly surprised of the axing of Nathan Burns. I hope we will not regret that decision.
pacman
Guest
"We’ve come up with a good strong squad that has a mix of experience, form and players who are playing regular football..." says Ange. A statement open to interpretation I suggest. I have insufficient spare time to research football statistics to any great degree. That being said, upon a whim I researched Socceroo Brad Smith (AFC Bournemouth - EPL). What a disturbing surprise! Out of his club's 27 EPL matches, Smith has featured in just 5. But that's not all - not one of these matches did he play out in full. In one, he came on as a 91' substitute, so not much contribution to his EPL playing time this season, which totalled 270 minutes, equivalent to 3 complete matches. Smith did play out 2 League Cup matches, and 74 minutes of his club's FA Cup defeat to Millwall. I have no agenda here, and unearthed this information completely by chance - information surely that Ange would have. The question that begs an answer is why Smith was selected ahead of an A-League player enjoying 90 minutes a week game time? Is it simply a case of occasional EPL players being better than fully employed A-League players? If so, I shudder at our WC prospects.
j binnie
Guest
Real - A very good question and one that has to be considered when analysing the Australian National Coaching job. Ange no doubt logs up some flying miles in his task but it has to be a huge task trying to keep tags on all his players who are now spread from Europe to Japan and a lot of stops between. One of his predecessors,Frank Arok, recognised the problem and tried to use only home based players in his early years "on the job",but it could be argued that he was so successful he inadvertently boosted the movement of our better players to overseas clubs, starting with players like Mitchell,Krncevic and Farina, all three of whom could no longer be ignored due to their successful sojourns in Germany and Belgium. Leaves one wondering when the HAL will supply the majority of players named in a Socceroo squads. Cheers jb.
Midfielder
Guest
I remember Harry in Tehran against Iran... what a game that was .... then the draw in Melbourne ... did not sleep for weeks...
Franko
Guest
That's my point. Mauk isn't getting a look in (perhaps not playing enough) whilst his less able (IMO) peers waltz past him.
Realfootball
Guest
I sometimes do wonder what a national team coach who sees his players once in a blue moon does with his or her time.
Realfootball
Guest
Is Mauk playing? I don't think he is.
Lionheart
Guest
It must be incredibly difficult to pick from such a widespread field. Well done all - now for some decent points on the table. Iraq in Tehran - whew!
Fadida
Guest
I'm pretty sure Ange is on here posting as Rick Disnick.....
Fadida
Guest
Was he working incredibly hard but then butchering the final pass/shot every time? Definitely needs converting to right back
Franko
Guest
Funny, if I was picking one AU lad for our club side right now it'd be Stefan Mauk. Ahead of Mabil, McGree, Jeggo but I guess that is why Ange isn't not wasting his work day posting on internet forums.