Australia, under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou, made a selection for the World Cup which saw the surprise exclusion of former Blackburn and West Ham defender Lucas Neill. However the Greek born manager will be hoping that he has selected a team capable of progressing to the knock-out stages of the tournament.
Goalkeeper:
The Socceroos squad contains no less than 4 shot stoppers, none of them having more than 8 caps. However the number one jersey will probably be given to Matthew Ryan, who plays his club football for Club Brugge in Belgium.
Other 'keepers in the preliminary 27 man squad include Borussia Dortmund's Mitchell Langerak as well as Eugene Galekovic and Mark Birighitti who play for Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets respectively.
Defence:
Luke Wilshire will most likely feature at right back as the most capped player, with 80 national appearances to his name. The 32 year old currently plies his trade in Russia with Dynamo Moscow.
A rather youthful centre back pairing of Heracles Almelo's Jason Davidson and Western Sydney Wanderers Matthew Spiranovic will most likely be Postecoglou's first choice although he has a few defensive options.
Former Rangers player Matt McKay will probably be the first choice left-back. McKay offers some attacking depth, constantly making darting runs down the left flank and is an excellent crosser of the ball.
Other defenders included in the squad are Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) and Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
Midfield:
The Socceroos lack of good strikers combined with their depth in midfield mean that they will probably line up with five in the middle of the park.
Postecoglou will probably opt for Mark Bresciano and Crystal Palace's Mile Jedinak in holding roles as part of a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Dario Vidosic of Switzerland's FC Sion will more than likely be utilised on the right of midfield, though Postecoglou could elect for Utrecht's Tommy Oar or James Troisi who plays in Italy with Atalanta.
Matthew Leckie – who currently plays for 2. Bundesliga side FSV Frankfurt will probably feature on the left while corner flag boxer Tim Cahill should occupy a slot behind the lone striker which would allow him to create goals as well as chip in with one or two of his own.
Attack:
As previously mentioned, the Australian side doesn't have much depth in way of attack and if Cahill and Leckie both play in midfield the only two players available are Joshua Kennedy and Adam Taggart.
If Postecoglou has to choose between the two then he doesn't have any dilemma as Kennedy is the obvious option; he is the much more experienced choice with 36 caps to his name and is 11 years Taggart's senior at 31 years of age.
The Group:
Australia are in Group B – arguably the group of death – alongside Chile and both of the 2010 finalists Spain and The Netherlands. Their best chance of winning points are probably against a Dutch side who seriously underperformed at the European Championships two years ago and so it will take a miracle for the Socceroos to reach the second round.
Prediction: Group Stages
