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Jamie Maclaren’s goalscoring exploits in Scotland for Hibernian have not been enough to convince Bert van Marwijk to include the striker in his first Socceroos squad.
Van Marwijk finalised his squad for his first two fixtures in charge of the Australian men’s national team, a pair of friendlies against Norway and Colombia, settling on a group of 26 players for the matches later this month.
The Dutchman had originally named a preliminary squad of 29 and opted to cut just three players: Maclaren, backup goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak and left-back Alex Gersbach.
First-choice number one Mat Ryan, veteran Brad Jones and the uncapped Danny Vukovic were the glovemen preferred to Langerak, while Millwall’s James Meredith and Norway-based Aleksandar Susnjar favoured over Gersbach in defence.
Maclaren, who scored for Hibernian in their derby-day victory over Hearts on the weekend and has scored twice in six appearances for the Scottish club, was overlooked for an attacker’s spot, with the likes of Tim Cahill, Nikita Rukavytsya, Andrew Nabbout and Dimitri Petratos making the squad in his stead.
Newcastle attacker Petratos is one of four A-League-based players included in the final squad with Western Sydney’s Josh Risdon, Sydney FC’s Josh Brillante and Melbourne Victory playmaker James Troisi all earning call-ups from van Marwijk.
The Dutch coach, who will be replaced by Graham Arnold after the upcoming World Cup, said the two friendlies will be valuable preparation for Russia 2018.
“I am looking forward to the chance to get together with the players and work with them for the first time and to get to know them,” said van Marwijk.
“We must ensure that we get the maximum possible out of the next two weeks in camp, because our time is limited.
“Our friendly matches against Norway and Colombia will be important, but the focus, commitment and application of all the players, coaches and staff from day one until the moment we leave London will be crucial.
“We need to ensure that we use the time that we have together wisely so that we advance our preparations for Russia.”
The Socceroos squad will meet up in Oslo next Monday before taking on Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion on Friday, March 23. The friendly against Colombia will be played the following Tuesday, March 27, at Craven Cottage.
Socceroos squad to play Norway and Colombia
Aziz Behich
Joshua Brillante
Tim Cahill
Milos Degenek
Jackson Irvine
Mile Jedinak
Brad Jones (GK)
Tomi Juric
Matthew Jurman
Robbie Kruse
Mathew Leckie
Massimo Luongo
James Meredith
Mark Milligan
Aaron Mooy
Andrew Nabbout
Dimitri Petratos
Josh Risdon
Tom Rogic
Nikita Rukavytsya
Mathew Ryan (GK)
Trent Sainsbury
Aleksandar Susnjar
James Troisi
Daniel Vukovic (GK)
Bailey Wright