Socceroos' provisional 46-man squad for Asian Cup named

Head Coach Ange Postecoglou has named a provisional 46-man Socceroos squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

The squad, which will be trimmed to 23 before the tournament starts, reflects Postecoglou’s desire to broaden the base of players to strengthen the squad as it strives to rise to the challenge of facing Asia’s best nations on home soil from 9 January.

The provisional Socceroos squad contains:

  • 30 players who have taken the field in five internationals since the World Cup. Plus a further two named in squads without taking the field.
  • All 23 members of the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.
  • Four uncapped players
  • 16 players from the Hyundai A-League.

“I’m happy with the depth of squad we have been able to name and it is now up to these 46 guys to ensure they are selected in the final squad for the Asian Cup and rise to the challenge ahead,” Postecoglou said.

“We have set about trying to broaden the depth of players and I’m happy with how that has transpired over the last five matches since the World Cup. We have a good group of players to choose from for what will be an exciting time for Australian football.”

Postecoglou has also offered an opportunity for Rhys Williams, Robbie Kruse and Josh Kennedy to push for a return to international tournament football after injury ruined their 2014 FIFA World Cup aspirations.

“Josh, Robbie and Rhys missed the World Cup through injury so it is nice to be able to select them in the provisional squad and there is no doubt their proven international record will give us a boost if they are named in the final squad of 23,” Postecoglou said.

There is also hope for Hyundai A-League players Terry Antonis, Luke Brattan, Nathan Burns, Daniel De Silva, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Tomi Juric, Aaron Mooy, Mitch Nichols, Josh Risdon, Nikita Rukavytsya, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who have come into the frame after good early season domestic form.

“We still have three or four weeks before we finalise the squad so there is opportunity for all 46 players to push their claims for inclusion in the final list of 23.”

AFC Asian Cup Socceroos Squad announcement timetable:

  1. AFC Asian Cup regulations specify a squad of between 23-50 players must be nominated to the AFC by December 9.
  2. The final squad of 23 must be submitted by December 30.
  3. Players injured up to the start of the tournament can be replaced but the new player must come from the original list submitted on December 9.

The 46-man preliminary Socceroos squad is:

Name

Club, Country

A International Caps (Goals)

Mustafa Amini

B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, Germany

-

Terry Antonis

Sydney FC, Australia

3 (0)

Aziz Behich

Bursaspor, Turkey

7 (2)

Oliver Bozanic

FC Luzern, Switzerland

5 (0)

Luke Brattan

Brisbane Roar, Australia

-

Mark Bresciano

Al Gharafa, Qatar

81 (13)

Joshua Brillante

ACF Fiorentina, Italy

5 (0)

Nathan Burns

Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

7 (0)

Tim Cahill

New York Red Bulls, USA

76 (36)

Jason Davidson

West Bromwich Albion F.C., England

13 (0)

Daniel De Silva

Perth Glory, Australia

-

Adam Federici (gk)

Reading FC, England

9 (0)

Ivan Franjic

FK Torpedo Moskva, Russia

12 (0)

Eugene Galekovic (gk)

Adelaide United, Australia

8 (0)

Ben Halloran

Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany

6 (0)

Chris Herd

Aston Villa, England

3 (0)

James Holland

FK Austria Vienna, Austria

15 (0)

Bernie Ibini-Isei

Sydney FC, Australia

2 (0)

Mile Jedinak

Crystal Palace FC, England

52 (6)

Brad Jones (gk)

Liverpool FC, England

4 (0)

Tomi Juric

Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia

5 (1)

Josh Kennedy

Nagoya Grampus, Japan

36 (20)

Robbie Kruse

TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany

32 (3)

Mitchell Langerak (gk)

B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, Germany

5 (0)

Mathew Leckie

FC Ingolstadt 04, Germany

16 (1)

Massimo Luongo

Swindon Town FC, England

5 (0)

Ryan McGowan

Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, China

12 (0)

Matt McKay

Brisbane Roar, Australia

50 (1)

Mark Milligan

Melbourne Victory FC, Australia

33 (2)

Aaron Mooy

Melbourne City, Australia

4 (3)

Mitch Nichols

Perth Glory, Australia

5 (0)

Tommy Oar

FC Utrecht, Netherlands

20 (1)

Josh Risdon

Perth Glory, Australia

-

Nikita Rukavytsya

Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia

13 (1)

Mat Ryan (gk)

Club Brugge KV, Belgium

13 (0)

Trent Sainsbury

P.E.C. Zwolle, Netherlands

4 (0)

Brad Smith

Liverpool FC, England

4 (0)

Matthew Spiranovic

Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia

21 (0)

Adam Taggart

Fulham FC, England

7 (3)

Nikolai Topor-Stanley

Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia

4 (0)

James Troisi

S.V. Zulte Waregem, Belgium

16 (1)

Carl Valeri

Melbourne Victory FC, Australia

52 (1)

Dario Vidosic

FC Sion, Switzerland

23 (2)

Alex Wilkinson

Jeonbuk Hyundai FC, Korea Republic

11 (0)

Rhys Williams

Middlesbrough, England

14 (0)

Bailey Wright

Preston North End FC, England

1 (1)

SOCCEROOS ASIAN CUP GROUP STAGE MATCHES

Australia v Kuwait                                       Australia v Oman                Australia v Korea Republic

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium              Stadium Australia                   Brisbane Stadium

Friday 9 January                                           Tuesday 13 January             Saturday 17 January

8pm kick off (AEDT)                                      8pm kick off (AEDT)              7pm kick off (8pm AEDT)