Ange Postecoglou has sprung a number of suprise selections for his Socceroos squad to tackle England in a friendly at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Saturday 28 May (AEST).
Adelaide United’s Stefan Mauk, Brisbane Roar’s Jamie Maclaren and newly Sparta Rotterdam’s Craig Goodwin have all been included in Postecoglou’s squad, which features six players from an out-of-season A-League.
Postecoglou has made 9 changes to the squad that defeated Tajikistan and Jordan in March, with unknown quantities Milos Degenek (TSV 1860 München) and Brad Inman (Crewe Alexandra FC) also receiving their first ever call-up for the Socceroos.
Given the friendly falls outside of a recognised FIFA window, the quintet of Socceroos based in China — Tim Cahill, Matthew Spiranovic, Trent Sainsbury, Ryan McGowan and Apostolos Giannou have not been released by their clubs. Matthew Leckie is also out through personal issues.
“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,” Postecoglou said.
“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.
“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.
“More importantly for me, it gives me a chance to see some further growth in some players playing against the best possible opposition.
“Due to this unique set of circumstances, we will name another squad next week for the upcoming matches against Greece where we will consider all eligible players.
“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.
England v Caltex Socceroos
Friday 27 May 2016
Stadium of Light, Sunderland
7.45pm Kick off (4.45am AEST)
Caltex Socceroos squad for International Friendly Match v England
|
Name |
Club, Country |
A International Caps (Goals) |
| Aziz BEHICH | Bursaspor, Turkey |
11 (2) |
| Milos DEGENEK | TSV 1860 München, Germany |
– |
| Adam FEDERICI (gk) | AFC Bournemouth, England |
15 (0) |
| Craig GOODWIN | Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands |
2 (0) |
| Chris IKONOMIDIS | US Salernitana 1919, Italy |
3 (0) |
| Jackson IRVINE | Ross County, Scotland |
2 (0) |
| Brad INMAN | Crewe Alexandra FC, England |
– |
| Mile JEDINAK | Crystal Palace F.C, England |
62 (12) |
| Tomi JURIC | Roda JC Kerkrade, Netherlands |
15 (2) |
| Robbie KRUSE | Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany |
40 (4) |
| Mitchell LANGERAK (gk) | VfB Stuttgart, Germany |
6 (0) |
| Massimo LUONGO | Queens Park Rangers FC, England |
19 (0) |
| Jamie MACLAREN | Brisbane Roar FC, Australia |
– |
| Stefan MAUK | Adelaide United FC, Australia |
– |
| Matthew McKAY | Brisbane Roar FC, Australia |
58 (2) |
| Mark MILLIGAN | Baniyas FC, UAE |
46 (5) |
| Aaron MOOY | Melbourne City FC, Australia |
13 (5) |
| Josh RISDON | Perth Glory, Australia |
2 (0) |
| Tom ROGIC | Celtic FC, Scotland |
15 (5) |
| Mathew RYAN (gk) | Valencia CF, Spain |
23 (0) |
| Brad SMITH | Liverpool FC, England |
6 (0) |
| Bailey WRIGHT | Preston North End FC, England |
10 (1) |
| Alex WILKINSON | Melbourne City FC, Australia |
16 (0) |
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