The Socceroos are continuing preparations for the EAFF East Asian Cup being staged in the Korea Republic later this month.
The Socceroos are continuing preparations for the EAFF East Asian Cup being staged in the Korea Republic later this month, with Coach Holger Osieck holding his second training camp in Sydney this week.
It will be Australia-s first time participating in the tournament and Osieck is expected to name a squad of Australian based players from his week-long training camps.
The tournament itself was founded in 2002 by the East Asian Football Federation and pits together the top four teams from the region in a round-robin event. Korea Republic and China have each won the Cup twice, with the latter being the reigning title holders.
Australia progressed to the final stage of the tournament following their 8-0 demolition of Chinese Taipei back in December. The Socceroos will play three matches in the space of nine days when they take on hosts Korea Republic, China and Japan to decide the winner.
As the fifth edition of the regional tournament is not a FIFA sanctioned event, it is expected all countries participating will be reliant on players in their domestic competitions. As such, the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup will be a good indicator of how the standard of the Hyundai A-League compares to other leagues in Asia.
Coach Holger Osieck will announce his squad that will travel to Korea Republic this Friday. The players will reconvene for three-day training camp next week, before departing on Wednesday. The Socceroos play their first match against the hosts on July 20.