Football
AAP 6y

World Cup bolters Nabbout, Susnjar in Van Marwijk's first Socceroos squad

Daniel Arzani will have to wait but Andrew Nabbout, Dimi Petratos and Josh Brillante have all been named in Bert van Marwijk's preliminary Socceroos squad for this month's pre-World Cup friendlies.

Tim Cahill's 18 minutes for Millwall also proved enough for a spot in Van Marwijk's maiden national squad of 29 players, which will be shaved down next week ahead of away clashes with Norway and Colombia in Oslo and London.

And the Dutch coach has put Australia's regular trio of goalkeepers on notice by rewarding Ange Postecoglou-era outcast Brad Jones for his stunning form with Feyenoord.

No. 1 Mat Ryan is unlikely to be displaced given his fine Premier League displays for Brighton, leaving in-form Belgium-based Danny Vukovic and Japan-based Mitch Langerak to fight Jones for the remaining two places.

The extended squad retains 22 of those involved in the Socceroos' successful World Cup qualification playoff against Honduras, while defender James Meredith has been recalled and young defender Aleksandar Susnjar, who plays for Czech side FK Mlada Boleslav, could receive his first cap.

"Since my appointment with the Socceroos, my staff, scouts and I have monitored over 100 Australian players in the A-League, as well as in leagues across Europe and Asia," Van Marwijk said.

"There are still a couple of weeks before the group gathers in Oslo, so we will continue to monitor the health and fitness of all the players in the preliminary squad, as well as those on our longer list of potential World Cup squad members.

"Our upcoming matches against Norway and Colombia will provide a great chance for the players selected to press their claims for Russia, however the door remains ajar for all players not picked for the March window."

Preliminary Socceroos squad:

Goalkeepers: Brad Jones, Mitch Langerak, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic

Defenders: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Alex Gersbach, Matt Jurman, James Meredith, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Aleksandar Susnjar, Bailey Wright

Midfielders: Josh Brillante, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, James Troisi

Forwards: Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mat Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout, Dimi Petratos, Nikita Rukavytsya

^ Back to Top ^