Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek will whittle down his squad of 27 for the friendly against the Netherlands on September 6 ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent four days later.
There were few surprises in Pim Verbeek's 27-man squad with only two A-League players named. The Dutchman said he will work out after the game against the Dutch in Eindhoven how many players he will take to Central Asia for the opening match of the second stage of World Cup qualification.
"We have this squad together for the first week in training and before we leave we will work out how many players will take to Tashkent," Verbeek said on Wednesday.
As expected neither Tim Cahill or Mark Viduka are fit to take their place, while the only two local players to earn a spot in the squad are Newcastle duo Jade North and Ante Covic.
Verbeek said the challenge was out there now for A-League players to prove they were up to the standard to play in this World Cup qualification campaign.
"These two guys are the two who have made an impression on me the last five or six months. I know they can do for a job for us," he said. "It's up to the boys in the A-League now to lift their standards and we will look at them when we are back in Australia for the next games."
Richard Garcia, who was a late inclusion for the recent friendly against South Africa, has been named after scoring for Hull on the weekend, while Norwegian-based Shane Stefanutto gets a call up. Stefanutto made his debut in 2007 in a friendly against China.
"Games like this are good to see some players," Verbeek said. "Players we haven't had in the camp. Stefanutto is a left player. He was in previous squads. Henk Duut watched him play last weekend. It's a good chance for his to show himself, like we did last time with Garcia."
Coming back into the squad from the 2-2 draw against Bafana Bafana in August are Michael Beauchamp, Jacob Burns, Brett Emerton, Brad Jones, Harry Kewell, Covic, North and Stefanutto.
Verbeek has gone for very-much a European-based feel to his team, leaving out most of the best local players, including Archie Thompson. Adam Federici is the other notable omission from the squad, with Brad Jones and Covic favoured as Mark Schwarzer's understudies. All 27 players have already made their international debut.
The match against the Uzbeks marks the beginning of the second stage of Australia's qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Australia must finish top two in a group which also contains, Japan, Bahrain and Qatar to book an automatic place in that tournament.
Socceroos squad: Michael Beauchamp (Aalborg Bk, Denmark), Mark Bresciano (U.S. Citta Di Palermo, Italy), Jacob Burns (Fc Unirea Valahorum, Romania), David Carney (Sheffield United Fc, England), Scott Chipperfield (Fc Basel, Switzerland), Chris Coyne (Colchester United Fc, England), Ante Covic (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Jason Culina (Psv Eindhoven, Netherlands), Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi Sk, Turkey), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers, England), Richard Garcia (Hull City Fc, England), Vincenzo Grella (Blackburn Rovers, England), Brett Holman (Az Alkmaar, Netherlands), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough Fc, England), Josh Kennedy (Karlsruher Sc, Germany), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray Sk, Turkey), Scott Mcdonald (Celtic Fc, Scotland), Mark Milligan (Uncontracted), Lucas Neill (West Ham United Fc, England), Jade North (Newcastle Jets, Australia), Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor, Turkey), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham Fc, England), Matthew Spiranovic (Fc Nurnberg, Germany), Shane Stefanutto (Fc Lyn Oslo, Norway), Mile Sterjovski (Derby County Fc, England), Carl Valeri (U.S. Grosseto Fc, Italy), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow, Russia)