23-man Socceroos squad

[Missing Dog]

Australia coach Pim Verbeek has named three new faces in a 23-man squad for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Kuwait City on January 6 next year.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26517640-5014539,00.html

What are people's thoughts on the intial 23 man squad named? As expected it appears to be a good mix of A-League players as well as some fringe European based who will get their opportunity to impress for the World Cup. We should still field a fairly strong lineup and I don't expect to see too many A-league players forcing their way into the starting eleven.

Taking into account Pim Verbeek's style and preference to play a 4-5-1 system combined with the squad picked I would still like us to try and be attacking, I would like to see something like this;

GK Galekovic
RB Wilkshire
CB Spiranovic
CB Moore
LB Lowry
DM Jedinak
DM Culina
RM Vidosic
AM Carle
LM Rukavytsa
CF Djite

Take your pick for the bench, thoughts?

[Rocco Jones]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

--------------Galekovic----------------
Wikshire--Moore--Spiranovic--Lowry
----------Jedinak--Culina--------------
Vidosic--------Carle-----------Brosque
----------------Djite--------------------

I should have just quoted the OP and said Brosque for Nikkita.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Hoping Carle can really show something in this game -- he has to pretty much make himself undroppable because Holman (his current competition for the AM spot) offers the kind of stuff that coaches love (work rate, following instructions etc.) but Carle is more mercurial and is the kind of player that can make the difference at a World Cup where games are tight and some magic is required.

[Missing Dog]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Certainly this is a big opportunity to impress for a few of those European players on the fringes, Carle specifically needs to put on a good display to stamp his claims for a spot.

I hear Jedinak is doing good things overseas and some believe he may actually force his way into the best 11 by the time the World Cup comes around.

I think despite Culina being an established player he would be keen to put on a good show as he would be aware of players looking to take his spot in what is a competitive area on the field.

[The Pie Man]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Certainly this is a big opportunity to impress for a few of those European players on the fringes, Carle specifically needs to put on a good display to stamp his claims for a spot.

I hear Jedinak is doing good things overseas and some believe he may actually force his way into the best 11 by the time the World Cup comes around.

I think despite Culina being an established player he would be keen to put on a good show as he would be aware of players looking to take his spot in what is a competitive area on the field.

If Pim is to be taken at his word, Cullina won't go to the world cup unless he seeks a loan deal from GC in January (which he's said he won't do)

I find Culina being omitted hard to believe, but who knows.

[ledge]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Verbeek said on a soccer show the other day that anyone from the A league will not go to the World Cup unless they play games overseas as he wants them playing top grade and performing when its closer to the finals.
The A league apparently finishes 2 or 3 months before the World Cup and he will not pick players doing nothing for those months leading up to it.
I am gathering he has talked to the A league players he has chosen in this game about it or it would be no point playing them if they werent prepared to play games overseas after the A league season.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Culina has been ruled out due to injury and has been replaced by Dean Heffernan. You would assume Burns would be a replacement for Culina in the starting XI.

[Missing Dog]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

Culina has been ruled out due to injury and has been replaced by Dean Heffernan. You would assume Burns would be a replacement for Culina in the starting XI.

The 3 options would be to promote a full back such as Matt Thompson to the side and that would allow Wilkshire to move into that midfield role or alternatively Matt McKay has played the role previously for Australia with fairly good success or finally Burns could be a straight replacement.

I'm not sure what would be the best move to be honest.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

The 3 options would be to promote a full back such as Matt Thompson to the side and that would allow Wilkshire to move into that midfield role or alternatively Matt McKay has played the role previously for Australia with fairly good success or finally Burns could be a straight replacement.

I'm not sure what would be the best move to be honest.

I think McKay is more of an attacking midfielder rather than a holding one.

Your Matt Thompson call is a good one but I think I would prefer Burns in the XI.

[LostDoggy]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

There has got to be better options than Matt McKay. Not sure what a national coach sees in him.

For all the bad press Archie Thompson recieves, I don't see a better option or a more likely to score option.

[Rocco Jones]

Re: 23-man Socceroos squad

There has got to be better options than Matt McKay. Not sure what a national coach sees in him.

For all the bad press Archie Thompson recieves, I don't see a better option or a more likely to score option.

McKay is alright but Verbeek's A-League selections always have a hint of pulling names out of a hat feeling.

Archie is a bit of a victim of his own success imo. He gets rated up against world class/Euro players and comes up short, where others competing for his spot seem to get rated against A-League standard.

Fwiw I think guys like Vidosic, Sterjovski and Brosque offer more to the side in attacking wide roles and Archie isn't really suited to playing as the target man/CF. That being said, the only player suited to CF in the squad is Djite and he isn't much.