Qantas Socceroos squad named for Friendly against Slovenia
Acting Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Han Berger has selected a squad of 20-players for the upcoming international friendly fixture against Slovenia.
SYDNEY 3 August 2010
Acting Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Han Berger has selected a squad of 20-players for the upcoming international friendly fixture against Slovenia in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Wednesday 11 August 2010 (Kick-Off 8:45pm local, 4:45am AEST).
Thirteen members of the Qantas Socceroos squad that represented Australia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa have been selected along with James Holland, Shane Lowry, Jade North and Tommy Oar who were named as part of the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Nathan Burns will join the Qantas Socceroos squad after some impressive performances for AEK Athens at the recent Sydney Festival of Football after last being selected for the friendly against Singapore in 2008 .
Bruce Djite and Jon McKain will return to the Qantas Socceroos squads after last being selected for the AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifiers against Kuwait and Indonesia in January and March 2010 respectively.
This international friendly match will be the first at Slovenia-s new national stadium, Športni Park Stožice in Ljubljana.
Slovenia were placed in Group C of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and narrowly missed out on progressing to the round of 16 finishing third in their group behind the USA and England. Slovenia are currently placed 19th in the FIFA World Rankings, their highest position ever and one place ahead of the Qantas Socceroos.
Han Berger : "The Qantas Socceroos squad announced today for the friendly against Slovenia has been selected with an eye to rejuvenating the national team with the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“Although the overall strategy is aimed at preparing for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the AFC Asian Cup is also very important and our next focus will be around preparing the best squad available for Qatar in January.
"The squad selected is a good mixture or young and experienced players with thirteen of the twenty players from our 2010 FIFA World Cup squad.
“Some players that have not been selected have been given the opportunity to consolidate their positions in their club teams at the beginning of their new season, especially those who missed much of the pre-season training because of the World Cup.
“This is to our long term benefit as we need these players to be starting regularly with their clubs, and to not call them into the national team now means that for the later matches this year and next year they will hopefully be at their peak and able to contribute more effectively to the national team.
"Hyundai A-League players were not considered for this match due to the clash with the start of the season and the fact it was a single FIFA match date but will be definitely be considered for the next matches in September.
"We are at an advanced stage with our process to select the next Qantas Socceroos Head Coach and we hope to be in a position to announce the successful candidate in the near future.
Tickets for the match are currently available for purchase. For more information regarding ticketing, please visit www.nzs.si
All Qantas Socceroos matches are broadcast live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS.
| Player | Club, Country | A-International matches (goals) | |
| Nathan BURNS | AEK Athens, Greece | 2 (0) | - |
| Tim CAHILL | Everton FC, England | 42 (21) | |
| David CARNEY | FC Twente, Netherlands | 27 (3) | |
| Bruce DJITE | Genclerbirlgi SK, Turkey | 8 (0) | |
| Adam FEDERICI | Reading FC, England | 1 (0) | |
| Richard GARCIA | Hull City, England | 9 (0) | |
| James HOLLAND | AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands | 4 (0) | |
| Brett HOLMAN | AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands | 34 (4) | |
| Mile JEDINAK | Genclerbirlgi SK, Turkey | 12 (0) | |
| Shane LOWRY | Aston Villa, England | - | |
| Mark MILLIGAN | JEF United, Japan | 10 (1) | |
| Jon McKAIN | Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia | 12 (0) | |
| Lucas NEILL | Galatasaray SK, Turkey | 59 (0) | |
| Jade NORTH | Tromsø IL, Norway | 28 (0) | |
| Thomas OAR | FC Utrecht, Netherlands | 2 (0) | |
| Nikita RUKAVYTSYA | Hertha Berliner SC, Germany | 6 (0) | |
| Mark SCHWARZER | Fulham FC, England | 78 (0) | |
| Carl VALERI | Sassuolo, Italy | 25 (0) | |
| Dario VIDOSIC | FC Nurnberg, Germany | 7 (1) | |
| Luke WILKSHIRE | FK Dinamo Moscow, Russia | 45 (2) |
Upcoming Match Details
Slovenia v Qantas Socceroos Wednesday 11 August 2010 Kick Off 8:45pm CEST ( 4:45am AEST, Thursday 12 August 2010) Športni Park Stožice, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Match broadcast live and Exclusive on FOX SPORTS