Van Marwijk names six new faces in preliminary squad

Caltex Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk has named six new faces in his preliminary 32-man squad in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

With all 26 players from the Caltex Socceroos squad that faced Norway and Colombia in March included, Van Marwijk has also found room for Hyundai A-League youngster Daniel Arzani after his impressive breakout season for Melbourne City.

Another first time call up is Fran Karacic, a 21-year-old right back who has been a regular starter for Lokomotiva Zagreb in the Croatian 1st Division.

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Van Marwijk has also handed Caltex Socceroos recalls to Jamie Maclaren, Mitchell Langerak, Alex Gersbach and Apostolos Giannou.

prelim squad

“I am not a person who changes all the time and we thought for a long time about the first squad that we selected,” said van Marwijk on his 32-man squad.

“I had a good experience with the 26 players in the ten days that I worked with them, so I had no reason not to nominate them again. But we have since seen other players so there will be a few new names in the squad.”

The 32-man squad will be whittled down to 26 next week before the team travels to Turkey for a 20-day training camp.

The Caltex Socceroos will then play pre-World Cup friendlies against Czech Republic and Hungary prior to travelling to Kazan in final preparations for the first Group Stage match against France.

Caltex Socceroos pre-2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Friendlies:

Caltex Socceroos v Czech Republic
Date: Friday, 1 June 2018 (local time)
Venue: NV Arena, St. Polten, Austria
Kick-off: TBC
Broadcast: Live in Australia on FOX SPORTS and Network Ten

Hungary v Caltex Socceroos
Date: Saturday, 9 June 2018 (local time)
Venue: Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary
Kick-off: 5.30pm local (1.30am AEST – Sunday, 10 June 2018)
Broadcast: Live in Australia on FOX SPORTS and Network Ten

Caltex Socceroos 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Group C Matches:

France v Caltex Socceroos
Date:
Saturday, 16 June 2018
Venue: Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia
Kick-off: 1pm local (8pm AEST – Saturday, 16 June 2018)
Broadcast: Live in Australia on SBS and Optus Sport

Denmark v Caltex Socceroos
Date:
Thursday, 21 June 2018
Venue: Samara Arena, Samara, Russia
Kick-off: 4pm local (10pm AEST – Thursday, 21 June 2018)
Broadcast: Live in Australia on SBS and Optus Sport

Caltex Socceroos v Peru
Date:
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
Venue: Fisht Stadium, Sochi, Russia
Kick-off: 5pm local (12pm AEST – Wednesday 27 June 2018)
Broadcast: Live in Australia on SBS and Optus Sport

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This article was originally published on the Socceroos website.
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