Australia head coach Ange Postecoglou has named his provisional 46-man squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

"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."

Five German-based players have made the cut for the initial squad for the tournament, which takes place in Australia on January 9th. Mitchell Langerak and Mustafa Amini, both from Borussia Dortmund, have made the cut. Langerak should start in goal for the Socceroos, with the shot-stopper pushing Roman Weidenfeller's starting place at BVB all the way. Amini has yet to be capped in the full-squad, though is a regular at youth level. He isn't the only uncapped player in the squad, as Luke Brattan, Josh Risdon and Daniel de Silva have made the cut.

Someone who missed the World Cup, Robbie Kruse, is back in the squad. The Bayer Leverkusen player would have been a key-player in Brazil, so to have him back means coach Postecoglu is understandably happy: "Robbie missed the World Cup through injury so it is nice to be able to select [him] in the provisional squad and there is no doubt [his] proven international record will give us a boost if [he is] named in the final squad of 23." 

The other two players based in Germany play in the 2.Bundesliga. Ben Halloran, Fortuna Düsseldorf, and Mathew Leckie, FC Ingolstadt, both made the initial cut. Leckie scored in the game against the Netherlands in this summer, although he couldn't help the Aussie's falling to a 3-2 defeat. The hosts kick-off the tournament against Kuwait, before facing South Korea, who will also have a few Bundesliga players present.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Adam Federici, Eugene Galekovic, Brad Jones, Mitchell Langerak, Mat Ryan.

Defenders: Ivan Franjic, Jason Davidson, Ryan McGowan, Bailey Wright, Matthew Spiranovic, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Alex Wilkinson, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, Rhys Williams.

Midfielders: Massimo Luongo, Mile Jedinak, Mark Bresciano, Oliver Bozanic, James Holland, Matt McKay, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tommy Oar, James Troisi, Dario Vidosic, Mustafa Amini, Terry Antonis, Aziz Behich, Luke Brattan, Joshua Brillante, Daniel De Silva, Chris Herd, Mitch Nichols, Carl Valeri.

Forwards: Tim Cahill, Bernie Ibini-Isei, Ben Halloran, Tomi Juric, Josh Kennedy, Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie, Adam Taggart, Nathan Burns, Nikita Rukavytsya.

Quotes via Bundesliga.com and Daily Mail.

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Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]